When I graduated from high school, I knew I was going to college. As a matter of fact, going to college has always been something I just knew I was going to do. The fall after graduation, I was off. I packed my life up in boxes and drove three and a half hours to a town I knew absolutely nothing about. Hours later, I looked out my dorm window and watched as the people I had always been able to rely on drove away, leaving me behind.
That day, my life changed. I was scared, I was sad, I was excited, but looking back, that was the day my dreams started coming true.
My first semester of college, I fell in love with my major. I couldn’t get information fast enough; I had a new found thirst for knowledge. I started taking more classes, full loads, the maximum amount of hours my university allows. This became a trend, and now almost two years later, hours ahead of my classmates, and on a fast track to graduation, I’m tired.
I’m tired of studying; I’m tired of being stressed out. I’m tired of following the same schedule every day: Wake up, class, lunch, class, homework, study, sleep. I'm tired of worrying about my grades, about my scholarships. I'm tired of all-nighters the night before an exam. I’m tired of seeing the same people in the same classes and walking down the same hallways. I'm tired of drinking tons of coffee just to get through the day. I’m tired of college.
When I finally admitted this to myself, I was pretty terrified. I was home over spring break, I had just had an interview with the Disney College Program, and I had started thinking about what exactly the fall semester would have in store if I didn’t get accepted to the DCP, and what it would be like if I did.
“Is it worth falling behind a semester after I’ve worked so hard to be ahead? What about my family? What about my friends? What about my degree?”
I froze in thought and realized what I had really known all along: My degree will always be here, but my life won't.
Accepting that, I felt liberated; I realized that for the first time in two years, I had the potential chance to take a break. A chance to move to a new place, follow a new schedule, meet new people, and learn outside of the classroom. I realized that I don't have to be tired.
Almost two weeks later, I got my acceptance letter. I went through a period of shock and fear, but then I was relieved, and I still am. Dropping the classes I had registered for this fall was one of the best feelings in the world—a feeling of freedom.
In today’s day and age, everything is about the future. Everything is rushed. You’ve got to graduate from high school so you can go to college. You’ve got to graduate from college so you can get a job and get married. You’ve got to have kids before you’re too old. You’ve got to start a family. We spend so much time focusing on the future, on our goals, that sometimes we forget to live.
Life is short; it’s not predictable. We never know what exactly is going to happen when we wake up every day. Take care of yourself, not just physically but emotionally and mentally, too. Remind yourself that it’s OK to take a break; it’s OK to stop and smell the roses every once and awhile. Don’t push yourself too hard and get burnt out on a major or calling that you once loved just because you’re tired.
Go to college, follow your dreams, but don’t forget to make memories, take chances, and most of all don’t forget to live.
Go to that concert, even if it means you’re going to eat Ramen noodles for the next month. Skip that class to catch up on sleep after a long week of midterms. Go out with your friends on a Thursday, and go to class looking like death on Friday morning. Hey, you could even take a semester off and move to Disney World. I mean, it worked for me.
