I can’t believe I am two years into college. That being said, I can’t believe I have only two years left. Like many sophomores across the nation, I just finished my last week of classes for my second year of school, and all I can think is: Wow. Where did the time go? What have I been doing all this time that two whole years of college managed to pass by without my realizing?

College has been great. I’ve learned so much about myself and about the world around me in two short years. High school years are formative, but I feel like I’ve really grown into myself more these past two years than I did in all four years of high school. College forces you to grow up and do things on your own. Even though many of us already knew how to do things on our own and manage our time pre-college, college is a whole different ballpark when it comes to figuring out what you like and who you are as an individual.

But even though I’ve learned so much, it’s a little scary to think that in just another two short years, we’ll be even more on our own. College is “adulting” but going to grad school/working a real job/being out of college requires real adulting. So much can happen in two years, but also, if you’re not careful, those two years can pass by extremely quickly, and before you know it, you’ll be wondering why you spent your time the way you did.

I’ve mentioned this in a few of my articles now, but it just shocks me how fleeting and precious time is. We all think that we are going to live forever and that we live each day to the fullest, but do we really? Do we really sit down and appreciate each day of the year that we are living and studying? Bad days may seem few and far between, but the days end up going by quicker than we expect, and it’s always better to be able to remember how happy you were and how much you appreciated every day instead of not being able to remember where the time went or regretting how you didn’t appreciate the time you had.

College is fun, and I’m so excited for the two years ahead of me. My goal is to live each day to its greatest potential and not wish away the days like many people tend to do toward the end of the school year. Every day is a great one, and some people even consider college to be “the best days of their lives.” So why not enjoy it? What a great time we’ve had already, and what a great time we have yet to come. Congratulations to all the sophomores who just reached the halfway point in their undergraduate careers! We may not be graduating yet, but as Elle Woods put it, “We did it!!”