15 Things I Wish I Could Tell My Senior College Self
By Liz Rae
Self,
This year is going to be rough for you, and it will be life changing for you. You won’t know it until a few years later when you discover how life would have been a lot different if you had done the things you had planned. This year will throw you off-guard, and you’ll start questioning who you are and why you even bothered to go to college. This year will teach you about love and it will teach you about pain. This year will teach you about friendship and it will teach you about enemies. You will be lost for a good portion of it and you won’t know who you are for a long time after that.
You may be confused about your last year of college. You’ll be confused because you thought the last year of college was supposed to define you, not break you apart. That’s ok. It happens to a lot of people, but you just happen to be one who thinks differently than most people. It’s ok to think different and be different.
So this year may be awful for you. You’ll have a lot of memories of your last year, but a lot of them will be heartbreaking. You’re going to go through a lot of loss, but life will go on. However you choose to handle things, make sure you spend your last year as purposefully as you can. I already know what is going to happen to you, but I still want to give you fifteen pieces of advice. Keep these in mind with all of the decisions you make in your last year, and I hope your last year is just as crazy as I remember it now.
1. Drink more
After college, you’ll find that you won’t like to drink a lot of alcohol. You’ll go for happy hours, but you won’t like getting wasted anymore. You’ll want to wake up early on weekend mornings instead of spending the day sleeping. So drink now while you can, and drink lots.
2. Take stupid classes
You’re not going to get a job in what you’re majoring in. You’ll discover that it may not even be the path you want to take. So take stupid classes and don’t fret too much about your grades. The rest of your life does not depend on your grades.
3. Stay happy
There will be a lot of reasons for you to be upset with the world. Don’t be. Be that person that makes others happy. Don’t flip off drivers, don’t be a rioter, and don’t be a hater. Just be happy with your life and make the lives of others happy.
4. See your family
You’ll realize after college that you didn’t see your family enough when you were in school. Take time to see them. Many of them will pass away after you graduate, and you’ll be disappointed for not spending more time with them. After all, you wouldn’t be in college if it wasn’t for them.
5. Cherish your friendships
You’re not going to speak to a lot of people after college. Many people will move. I think you know this now, but you don’t get it yet. Your senior year is the last year that you will be in close proximity with them. So don’t work so much and see your friends.
6. Travel like crazy
Every weekend, every break, every breathing moment, travel. You’ve got one year left until people start criticizing your choice of work, so spend it travelling. After college, people will be annoyed by your love to travel, which isn’t your problem, but you’ll have more support while you’re in school.
7. Don’t settle for less
Just because you’re graduating doesn’t mean you should get a job anywhere that will pay you. I know you’re not the type to get a job just to get a job, but keep this in mind anyway. It’s your life. Don’t let society tell you where and when you should be working.
8. Don’t settle
You’re going to do this anyway, but don’t settle down. Don’t let someone give you false hopes. You’re too young for that. You’re going to enjoy your time with them, and you’ll realize later that it was heartbreaking, but don’t settle. Don’t let someone else’s life hold you back from living your own.
9. Be kind to your roommates
After college, you’ll discover that your roommates were the coolest ones that you’ll ever have. So be kind to them. They are better people than you have made them out to be. This is the last time you’ll have that great of a living situation.
10. Make new friends
Just because you’re in your final year of college doesn’t mean that your time to make friends in college is over. Give your number to everyone. Go out with new people. Try out new places. Don’t close the door just yet.
11. Keep the past in the past
You’re going to reminiscence about things, and then you’ll try to bring back those people and those times. I can’t stop you from doing this, but all I can say is, let the dust settle. Don’t go back and try to rekindle old times. See the people you once loved, but then let them move on with their own lives.
12. Start giving away your belongings
Once you move out of your college house, you’ll find a lot of belongings that piled up. Be prepared to give some of these things away. Be prepared to let go. You can’t bring everything with you, so save the most important pieces.
13. Keep alive
This last year is going to be stressful. It’s going to be scary. It’s going to be tiring. But try to keep your head up. Really learn to live this year. Learn to remember that all is temporary. Don’t let school keep you from living your last year.
14. Leave a legacy
You’re not going to leave the best legacy, I can tell you that now. But on your way towards the end of this year, try to be remembered for something. Do great things. Be a great person. Change the way people think. People are going to call you names behind your back and they are going to think you’re nuts. That’s ok. Leave your mark.
15. Learn to love
You don’t know what love is. You may think you do, but you don’t. Take time this year to discover what that is. It doesn’t have to be a person, it can be anything. Learn to love your life. Learn to love what you are learning. Learn to love the city you are in. Whatever you choose to learn to love, love it with your whole heart. And then you will know what it is like to be alive.
I can’t stop you from all of the stupid shit you are going to do this year. I can’t stop you from making ridiculous mistakes. I can’t stop you from the pain that you are going to experience. But I can tell you that this will be the best year of your life, whether you want to believe it or not. It won’t seem like it. But it’s going to be the year that you realize, this is your life. You don’t need to follow the status quo. You can do whatever the hell you want to do.
So live. Be alive. Be loving and be caring.
And whatever you do, do it with passion. A life without passion isn’t a life worth living. And your life is worth living and dying for.
Enjoy your last year of college.
Love,
Me