Right now we’re all at home, finally free from finals. For the next month, we do not have to worry about attending classes, writing essays, stressing over homework and using coffee as a means to stay awake late into the night as we study for exams. All we have to focus on is work, family, friends, and the luxury of relaxation. Another semester is behind us; we’ve earned it.
During this month, we will not think about what lies in front of us. See, with the ending of another semester comes a reality we’d all do pretty much anything to forget; only one semester left as an undergraduate. A cause for celebration? Yes, we’ve been working so hard these past few years to get to where we want to be, but also a cause for panic. Only a few months left to decide what we really want to do with our lives.
Are we applying to graduate schools? Jumping straight into the workforce? Looking for a job in our fields? Or will we take any job we can find, because money is money? Will we move back home with our parents, or be looking for a place of our own? Just what, exactly, do we want to do with our lives?
These are questions we do not want to consider. It’s all too much to figure out right this second. There’s still time. We have a handle on this. We should not have to stress so much.
But the holidays are here, and with them comes the visits of relatives we haven’t seen in a while. They’re so excited for us, to watch us accomplish everything we’ve dreamed about since we were children. It’s only natural for them to want to know every little detail about how it’s going to happen. As much as we love them, it’ll be hard to resist the urge to walk away from the conversation every time we hear, “So, you’re a senior? What are you doing after graduation?”
If the Fall 2015 semester is anything to judge by, this final semester will be over in a heartbeat. One second we’ll be going out to dinner with friends to celebrate the first day of classes for the spring semester, and the next we’ll be packing up our dorm for the final time, preparing to wear that cap and gown. It’s a terrifying thought, but we know it’s true; the next five months will be the fastest ones of our lives.
So live it up. Work hard in every class- we’re so close, we don’t want to mess it up now, but do everything you’ve always wanted. Go out to the bar on a Thursday night with your friends. Have breakfast with them the next morning to laugh about what happened the night before. Say yes to that person who asks you out for coffee (unless you have a good reason to say no.) Kiss that guy you’ve always been too shy to make a move on (or girl. Whichever you prefer.) Spend as much time with your friends as you can.
But most importantly: Cherish it. Because college won’t last forever.
