College is expensive and everybody knows it. Paying for tuition, books, room and board, extracurricular activities, the whole 411 and all of these things add up quickly. Not only is college expensive, but it is also a privilege that a lot of us do not realize we have. That is why I feel it is important that not only incoming freshmen, but even upperclassmen in college should be informed of all the possibilities that can come their way as well as recognize the potential that each one of us posseses.

What and who we desire to be is a life-long process. It slowly begins when we are teenagers and quickly blossoms the young adult we become. While some of us are using college, for example, as a way to help guide us into becoming successful people, know that this is also the time in life that could be the most wasted and useless four or five years, in which we maybe could have done something else. If you see college only as just a place where all the cool parties take place in the sorority houses, see it as just one big party all day every day, you are sadly mistaken and it would call for a rude awakening. Now don't get me wrong, college is meant to be fun and lively and memorable. However, only memorable if college did you well, for the most part, and where you prioritized. College cannot be purposeful through the eyes of somebody who will constantly procrastinate saying "I've got time" or "I have next semester to really figure this out."

Let me be a sole reminder that: 1) You are not meant to be in college forever. 2) Seek what you love to do and are purposeful at. 3) Doing your own research and brainstorming your own questions will help in the direction you want to take your life and lead you to the right people. You do not, freshmen, upperclassmen and graduate students, want to wake up one day wondering where time went. You do not want to be in the predicament where when it's all over and said and done, there you will be walking across a big stage shaking the university's (or college's) president's hand, as he or she is telling you "Congratulations, you did it," while simultaneously holding a degree in one hand that you have no idea what you are going to do with it.

Implicating at least an idea and some goals for life after college is imperative to how you want to shape it. This is a vital heartbeat that a lot of us forget to make. We say we want a degree in, for instance, biology and chemistry such as myself, but what in the world would you want to do with those degrees? Understanding that the possibilities out there for us are limitless, yet we need to understand that not all jobs out there are "glitter and gold" and that the competition for careers in our world gets tougher every second. While you may be taking a break, there is someone out there who never does because he or she is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that they are informed enough in what they want to do. We should all strive to become a person of perseverance. That is why you study and research what all can be offered to you. This helps you become the "assistant creator" of your future. As you venture through college, you see the pros and cons that come with different careers and you develop a prepared mindset that will benefit you in years to come! Not all plans for your future are definite as the course of things can change and no, you will not have life figured out, but it is always better to be prepared than not because you don't want to take the education you have for granted. More importantly, it would be a sorrowful moment where you realize that that degree you so eagerly waited for only ending up just sitting pretty on a wall or in a frame, and turned out to be worthless in your life.