When I graduated high school, people would often remind me that if I thought high school went by fast, just wait until college. Those four years can really fly by.
I would hear this idea, then simply brush it off and not think anything of it. In my mind, summer had just started and that was all I needed to think about. Looking back, I wish I had taken better note of every time someone mentioned this to me, as I needed to listen to it more carefully.
The anticipation of the arrival of move-in-day seemed to permeate the entire summer leading up to freshman year. The newfound excitement of living in a dorm room with complete strangers became more and more apparent as the August days trickled on. When the day finally came, a new chapter was in full swing, and the new role of "college student" became real. Freshman year came with a long list of firsts, including your first college class, the first of many times getting lost throughout campus, your first, but certainly not your last fall down, or even up Dinand steps, or Worcester snowstorm in February to name a few. Freshman year was new and exciting. This new chapter of your life was only a few pages into the story as sophomore year approached in the near distance. The excitement of no longer being the youngest on campus began. You know who your friends are and you know how to navigate the academic buildings. The next year was going to be even better.
Sophomore year.
A year comfort and slightly more certainty of who you are and where you are headed, yet find ease in knowing you have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do with your life and who you want to be. A change in dorm room, possibly some changes in friends, declaring a major, and walking through campus with an increased confidence of how to hold your own compared to the freshman. You embrace sophomore year with open arms, fully basking in the idea that these are the best years of your life as a young adult with little responsibility. This is the time to make mistakes and go out on a limb and try new things you never dared to try before. Junior year is just around the corner. Halfway done already? That can't be. With that, you are excited you are no longer going to be an underclassmen.
Junior year arrives.
With these upperclassmen privileges, you receive better living conditions and even parking spot. Could it get any better? Living in a dorm has become second nature, and you cannot imagine how you possibly survived without your college best friends all these years prior. Some members of your grade are abroad traveling the world while other remain on campus for the year. Students all around you land internships and turn 21. It is still not certain where exactly you are headed in life, but before you know it, it is the summer before your senior year.
Although it feels like just yesterday you were a freshman, three years have in fact flown by.
While you will always consider Wheeler to be your home, Williams becomes your new residence right before your eyes. The four best years of your life are ticking away without you even trying. You never thought you would see the day, but your last first day of school on Mt. St. James approaches. Even though were correct in knowing that each year of college gets increasingly better, you failed to see that with every year going by means a final year approaching. Senior year lies ahead. The final year to fully embody what it means to be a Holy Cross student.
Don't blink.
Take in all that every moment has to offer before you reach the point of picking out your cap and gown rather than picking out next semesters text books. Enjoy it, live it, and always cherish the time you have left of it.
