Dear College Student,
Well, it looks like we are back at it again. Another semester, another year, another decade, all new and coming as fast as lightning to the lovely streets of Lexington. Leaving a world of home cooked meals, lack of canvas assignment bells and 10 am wake-up calls behind in 2019. Winter break has come and gone. 2019 has come and gone. A whole decade of our lives has come and gone and it is now time to step into a new. Time for a return to the trials of collegiate, academic success. Late night study sessions at Willy T and jogs from White Hall to the Jacobs Science Building. Yet, this time it is different. We are not just returning to the mundane things that college students must go through, we are entering a new decade. The '20s are here and with them comes great things. Chances for students to make the most of their time, both in college and at the University of Kentucky.
In light of the new era we step into, we should look at it as a series of resolutions. Things that we can possibly do to maximize the authenticity and opportunity that the year 2020 has in store for students, not just in the UK, but around the world.
This is a decade where lives begin. You can be what you want to be, you just have to place the first foot forward. Here are some tips on how you could make the next steps towards using 2020 to its actualized potential.
Step outside of yourself.
College students are constantly trying to find their place. With a school as large and sometimes intimidating as UK, it can be the challenge of the century. It shouldn't have to be. Instead of hiding your face and voice during a lecture or in the dining hall, turn to someone and ask a question. Spark as friendship, or at the very least, an acquaintance. Everyone is in the same boat. It takes the strength and courage in yourself to be on the outside peeking in. Make the move.
Take that job.
This doesn't specifically tailor to actual jobs, but changes. As children, we are taught, "How will you know if you don't give it a try". That should be applicable to every opportunity we are given. Whether it is a job, an internship, an abroad trip, or even a relationship. Taking changes is always something preached at the turn of a new year, but people tend to let it drift by and simply forget. Your destiny is in your hands. It is your choice to make a new path in your life, so if given the opportunity, take it.
Sometimes the things you want are right in front of you.
Patience is key to the bustling, busy lives of college students. Most of the time, we lack it. We just want what we want in that very second. The irony that most of what we want is dangling directly in front of our faces is so interesting. The universe has a unique way of showing us ourselves. Be patient. That of what you are looking for it possibly in your presence at this very moment.
While all of these things can seem surface level and irrelevant, they aren't. In the next decade, some of us will be graduated, married, starting families, moving across the world, or evening working in careers we began ourselves. That is wild. Our lives are beginning. Wouldn't your future self thank you for taking every course of self-discovery in this world? It is something to ponder, yet it all boils down to one thing. Be you.
Sincerely,
The World.
