Time goes by quickly in college.
Everything is an assignment, every day is a deadline, every moment is spent thinking about what needs to get done next. Weekly happenings are planned out months in advance with classes, meetings and events that litter our calendars. As soon as a new week starts, we start counting down the days until the weekend. We eagerly await our fall, winter, spring and summer breaks as if they were the best things that ever happened to us.
As students, we are constantly looking forward to something. Whether it’s getting an exam over with or finishing the semester or graduating, there is always anticipation for the future. This can perpetuate an attitude of discontent and anxiety — along with a strong want to move past the current unpleasant assignment and on to the weekend. With all effort spent eagerly looking forward to something in the future, there is no time or energy left to be fully present in the now.
It is good to be excited about the future, to be full of anticipation and hope for the potential of tomorrow. But, to truly live in the future, is to live in the present. Every moment determines the next, and every seemingly normal day you live determines the future of the next days in your life.
Getting good grades and graduating college aren’t the only things that matter right now. This is a special time in life where you are free and young — you can try or do almost anything. There is no reason to chain yourself down to the classroom, library or bedroom. College days will be over soon enough, and they will be remembered as either a blur of business and stress, or some of the best days ever experienced.
Attending college is beneficial opportunity, but there is more to life than college. In some ways college is overrated — it is not life or death, it is just a place people go to learn among other students.
In other ways college is amazing, but so are waffles and puppies. In order to make the most out of your time in college, don’t focus on school to the point of severe stress. It’s important, but your friends and family are even more important. Good grades are nice, it shows that you can take an assignment seriously, or at least that you understand the subject, but doing your best to live a healthy lifestyle is more important than an A on a test.If college is a template for life, then it can set us up to spend our whole lives anticipating the future while letting the time slip away from us, because we were too focused on checking off our to-do list on time.
College is supplementary. It is an extremely useful tool to grow in character and expand the paradigm of what you are capable of. It is a sandbox where you can try new things and meet people who are very different from you. College is a place for experimentation and exploration.
But, the best thing about college isn’t college: it’s you. So, go on, make an app, start a band, start a blog, start a company, do innovative research, develop a product, design a game, make art, collaborate with people — do what you are passionate about.
There are more than just classes here, there is limitless potential. Think beyond the assignments and grades, and remember that college is relatively short time in life, so make it meaningful.There is more to life than college.
Andrew Brand can be reached at [email protected]