Very recently, I received my college diploma in the mail. I finally got to hold in my hands the document that I poured time, effort and money in to; the document that had my full name, my degree and university, and my honors credit. I had been anticipating that piece of mail for weeks upon weeks, and I couldn't wait for it to be officially in my possession—the physical product of my three years at my university. But, when it came in the mail, I saw it, felt full of excellent for a good 30 seconds, and then the moment passed, leaving me fairly underwhelmed.
Looking back at my college years, that is exactly how the process went for me as a whole—quickly, and left me rather underwhelmed. I went through every day counting down to something, whether it was my sophomore year, finally being an upperclassman, taking my capstone course that signified my last semester, or eventually walking the stage at graduation. I was always crossing things off of my list of "next achievements," and continuously looking forward. And while, yes, this is extremely important, being present in your daily life is as well.
Those three years flew by, all without me noticing how lucky I was to live those days out as an undergraduate student, with the most amazing peers and professors by my side, and looking back, I know that I felt that they were dragging on. Each day I told myself I was getting closer and closer to being a graduate of St. Thomas University, and after that, I would continue on to graduate school and be a graduate of that university, and then I would get an amazing job working in my field, and on and on and on. But not once did I ever look at the day ahead of me and think, "today I will focus on only these 24-hours and enjoying them to their fullest extent."
From a young age, we are taught to look forward to college, and then a real-world "adult" job that helps us change the world, and no one reminds us to just live. And this was made apparent to me this summer especially. I recently moved to Tennessee and will be moving again to Boston very soon. My time in Tennessee was short, and I spent most of it counting the days until my flight to my new home. Not once did I recognize how beautiful the city that I am living in was; never did I just sit and reflect on the amazing friends and connections I was making. I was too busy looking at my future. I kept talking about how excited I was to move and start this new adventure on my own, all the while not realizing how hard it would be to leave behind the people and places I was just beginning to know and love.
This lesson is especially relevant to college students and recent graduates. These years of your life are the most formative and so important, and when you look back at your college career, you should feel like you truly lived your life to the fullest, no matter how cliché that sounds. You should remember the little adventures you took with your friends, and that one quote that your professor shared with you in class that one day. You should feel a connection to the days that have passed, not that you're just perpetually moving forward, one goal after the other. Yes, achieve amazing things, but remember to truly live that moment and be present, even when everyone else is in such a rush to get there. The journey is just as important as the destination.
Until next week friends!
