It’s the year of firsts. But, it quickly becomes the year of lasts. “It goes by fast” is a phrase that is taken for granted way too easily. It lost its significance on account of repetitiveness. But it couldn’t be more true. Honestly, don’t blink. Because as soon as you do, it will be tomorrow and you’ll be a senior giving advice to the next round of freshman that walks onto campus. Although, there are a million pieces of advice I could give, like don’t take a class before 9 a.m. even if you are feeling ambitious. Or make sure you don’t forget about the cookies you put in the oven. Or even if you rollerblade to class make sure you take some shoes to take with you so you have something to change into. The following three points are advice that I can’t stress enough.

Friends. The friends you meet in college are going to be the most important people in your life. Cherish the memories both good and bad. Your friends will be the ones to get you out of trouble, but more often, in trouble. They will be the ones who are going to listen to your problems and help you fix them. They will be a shoulder for you to lean on or a slap in the face when you need to buckle down. Don’t ever let these people go. They helped make you who you are, and they are the ones that you wouldn’t be able to survive these four plus years without.

Despite the support from the most important people in your life, I’m sure we have all played the “what if” game. A “what if” that is followed by some situation that most likely will not happen. The stomach twisting feeling of something unexpected happening isn’t fun. My advice is don’t try to avoid it, because you can’t. Control it. Control the outlook you have on a curveball thrown your way. There are just some situations that we can’t control, but what we can control is the attitude we have about it. If you can control the outcome, great. If you can’t, fine. But one thing you will always have control is how you react to it. Good things come from bad situations. I lost my job at the last second this summer and scrambled to find a new one. I was mad at the people who put me in that situation, but I’ve soon realized that it gave me an opportunity to try something different. I’ve made a lot of friends at my new job and am learning new skills that I’ve wanted to learn. So that curveball that was thrown at me that gave my stomach that twisting sinking feeling turned into something I’m thankful for. So go ahead and play the what if game. But whatever happens, get over it, move on and make something good of it.

And finally, it is okay to have no idea what the hell you are doing. The amount of times I have mouthed “what the #$%@” to myself in a classroom, doing laundry, making food, or trying to solve a math problem is too many to count. I’ve changed my major more times than the average student but that’s just it. There is no such thing as an average student and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There is no right or wrong way to do something in any aspect of life. You do you. Do what makes you happy, not what others should believe is right. If anyone tells you they know what they’re doing in life they are wrong. You shouldn’t know. That’s what makes it life. That’s what make this whole ride an adventure.

So, here’s to your first year, and here’s to my last. No matter what sort of path you choose to take, it goes by quicker than you think. Make an adventure out of it and make sure it makes you happy. Because you shouldn’t settle for anything less during these four years, or years to follow.