Here’s to the firsts of the lasts of my college career. This may be the last Inside Column I ever write for The Observer. Maybe tomorrow will be the last time I pass that one junior who was in my French class on the quad or the last “make your own pizza” I have in South.
These next 51 days will be the last chance I have to spend time with some of the most intelligent and kind people I will ever meet. Now that’s a lot to handle, even for a 22-year-old (I’ll let you in on a secret — being 22 in no way means you are a grown up with your life together).
As I enter into my final few weeks of college, I am going to do everything in my power to make the most of every minute. As trite as that sounds, I think it is the only way to cope with such a difficult period of transition. It’s time to let down all the walls; it’s time to say hi to that one shy student you remember from your freshman seminar. Go out of your way to make plans with someone you haven’t seen in months, maybe years, even if it’s “awkward” (it shouldn’t be). Participate as much as possible in class, and go talk to your professors during office hours because this could be the last academic setting you’ll ever be in. As un-fun as it may sound, go take a trip to the Career Center if you’re like me and still looking for a job — it’s only a matter of weeks until that resource will be even farther from you than Flanner Hall is from West Quad.
As much as I hate the word “regret,” I cannot hide the fact that there are some things I regret not doing. Firstly, I regret not having the chance to say goodbye to Lisa Yang, a member of my McGlinn Hall family and a friend of mine at the beginning of our time here, before she passed away. I regret not keeping up with friendships I made in the first few weeks of school; imagine what senior year would be like if we still had all those connections we once made.
So, fellow seniors, next time you have the opportunity to hang out with a forgotten Frosh-O friend, chat with your least-favorite professor or even just strike up a conversation with a stranger, please take advantage of it. Make the most of your final days here. Because once our time is up, there’s no going back.
