Those who died yesterday had plans for this morning, and those who died this morning had plans for tonight. Dont take life for granted—just do it.
Finals are among us, and every college student is on edge this time of year trying to make the best grades they can to be "successful." I dont know about you, but it has always been drilled into my head that I am a successful student when I have a good GPA, received all A's or aced that test I spent 15 hours straight studying for. It has taken me some time to view college different, and I think everyone should take a step back and look at their end goal, where do you want to be in life and how are you going to get there?
College is a weird point in your life where you are figuring everything out. You are expected to decide on your career, start to transition into adulthood, probably meet the person you are going to marry, enjoy life and your new found freedom, maintain a good GPA to get where you want to go, try to sleep, have a job to pay for your expensive habits or an internship to help you figure things out, and try to spend time with family and friends. Last time I checked, there is only 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week, and no matter what way you divide it up, something is going to have to be lacking some time, and the hardest part is subtracting time from any of these precious categories.
Life is so dang short, and it is so precious. I think its very important to take a step back and look around at what is important to you, and I mean really important to you. Do you really want to miss your niece being born because you need to study for an exam? Are you okay with sitting in silence while visiting grandma because you have homework instead of sharing memories with her? Will you be happy 10 years down the road when you have no memories of college besides the tan walls and dull lighting in the library? Im not saying dont study and to not value your education (which an amazing gift in itself) but I am saying, think before you say no to plans with people that may not always be around. Our time here on earth should be valued because it can be taken away in an instant.
Your homework will still be there when you get back from visiting with grandma, you can always study for that exam when you get home from ice skating with friends, you can read your material while holding that new precious baby, you can put school on hold, but life doesn't stop for anybody.
Consider your definition of success, when will you be satisfied with your progress, when will you finally be content with the life you are living and just sit back and enjoy it? Whats the rush? Who said you had to be graduated with a 4 year degree in exactly 4 years? You can be just as successful if you finish your degree in 6 years and took time to spend 6 months taking care of underprivileged children in Haiti-- to me, that is much more a success. We all get this idea in our head that we have to be on time, be cookie cutter, be just life everyone else, have a glamorous looking life, but time doesn't really exist, we all get to choose our own timeline- time does not equal success, nor does an A. Remember we are all working with God's timing, and His time is different for everyone.
Does getting an A on a quiz mean you're going to be an incredible physician? Does getting 100% on a marketing presentation mean your going to land your dream job? Are you going to be any better than the next guy because your GPA is .3 higher? Life experience is what is important, being a good quality person that is caring is what is important. Being a good student is not the same as being a good person, and being a good student doesn't mean your going to have a successful life. Work on yourself, become the person you want to be from the inside out and ultimately everything will fall into place. Dont stress that everything isnt perfect right now, not everyones timing is the same. And some of the best things in life dont come easy.
Just take a long hard look into yourself and decide what success is to you, and modify your life around your goals. Just remember, you can always go back to school, you can always change your major and start over, but you can't bring people and memories back, you only get one chance to live your life, make it worth it.
