When you think about college, what do you think about? Parties, no supervision, eating out, few responsibilities and adventure, right? Well, somewhat. College is a time where one does a lot of self exploration, which usually includes trying out many different scenes until you find what suits you. You can change your major, try out for plays, play on an intramural team or rush Greek life. The world is your oyster; there are endless opportunities. And it is fun to explore who we could be and test out who we want to be in multiple settings. It’s a chance to play grown-up dress up; it's a period in your life to try out different personas until you find one that suits who you are best. It’s a time of ultimate freedom because we are reassured that it is a good thing to be exploring different life paths; It’s the perfect time to do it! Many people dread graduation when they are no longer able to explore different options because of their ensuing responsibilities that depend on a stable income.

“Responsibilities are so restricting! College is the best! I don’t ever want to graduate because then my life will be so boring!” This can be commonly heard throughout the student body. Everyone is wishing they could slide by on this freedom of exploration and never have to stick to one path in fear that it could be the wrong decision. This fear makes us all want to stay in college forever: a protective bubble where one wrong decision won’t make us fail.

However, what only a select few will realize is that college is more than just a safe haven. It is our preparation for what will, hopefully, lead to a more fulfilling life with lots of opportunities. Throughout our undergraduate careers (and graduate and so on) we work hard. We work hard to prove ourselves capable, to stand out in a crowd, to one day obtain a career that will support our families. And after four years of work, whatever your motivation may be, do you not want your rewards?

Yes, it is sad to leave behind a life that we know and enter into the unknown, but this work that we are doing now, is a lead up to what will hopefully be a wonderful life. It is sad to leave a town of week night bar crawls and all day tailgates. But, our adult lives will have much to offer as well. Watching the work we have done for the past four or more years that finally pay off into a career that is something you are interested in is going to be a feeling of accomplishment that will outweigh the fun freedom we now posses.

It is very scary to wonder if we are making the right decisions with our lives. Is my major actually appealing to a career I would gain after graduation? Is my sorority/fraternity legacy going to pay off in the end? Am I going to wish that I would have chosen to become a part of drama club rather than the environmental group?

There are tons of questions you can ask yourself, but the answer is that there is only one life you can live. Going through college, you should keep in mind an end result you hope to achieve and what it will take to get there. Graduation may be scary, but it will be even more exciting than your college days because you will get to see all your hard work turn into priceless accomplishments.