It is too early in the semester to say goodbye, but it is too late in our college careers to pretend we have much time left.
In a few months, we will no longer be able to complain about what the dining hall has for dinner. We will not be able to see our friends for a quick coffee because they will have inevitably moved across the country. We will not be able to turn to our roommate to rant that the best shower in the hall was being used, so we had to settle for the one that shoots water out like a power washer. We will not be able to take part in a billion debates on parietals. Even though many of us have already moved off campus, the sentiment still stands.
Simply put, we are running out of time to make memories and revel in the daily aspects of Notre Dame life that can not be replicated anywhere else.
That being said, it is officially crunch time. There is no valid excuse to waste another second. We have to take full advantage of the time we have left. Make a goal and stick to it. I, for one, am attempting to attend at least one game for all of the major sports on campus. We have all stood in the stands of “The House that Rockne Built.” However, students rarely give the other sports on campus the same reverence. I must admit that I messed up already in the fall semester – my apologies to soccer and volleyball, I swear I wanted to go, but I just forgot. This spring semester I will not make the same mistake.
Maybe sports are not your thing. Don’t fret, there are many other things all seniors should do before leaving. Make sure you go to at least one lecture on campus. The University tries to bring in speakers they think we would find interesting, odds are at least one will entertain you. Go to at least one more SYR or formal, or at least take part in a dorm event. Try all the South Bend restaurants you have been hearing about (the good and the bad).
Not everything has to be about the events on campus, some can be about socializing.
If you had a fight with someone on campus, address it and reconcile before the clock ticks down to zero. Similarly, if you are debating having a fight with a friend, be sure that you pick your battles and know that it may not even be worth the energy (we all know they probably won’t change anyway). If you have a crush, tell them — if you get rejected, you only have to awkwardly see them in the hallway a little longer. If you have a friend you have not seen since freshman year, reconnect with them to remember where you started.
No matter who you are, there is something to be done before we are out of time. Everyone had something that they would like to do on campus or a situation that they would like to clear up. Create a list of goals, be bold and get it done. You do not want to graduate and realize that you spent too much time lying around in your bed on TikTok.
This University has cost us 12 years of hard work and about $65,000 a year (yikes). Do not let all of that go to waste. Take advantage of every second we have left.
