A little more than two years ago I came to this university, a young, wide-eyed sophomore. I had a head filled with images of college life from movies like “Van Wilder” and “Animal House.”
I imagined myself spending my days here not in libraries but in a car, not furiously taking notes in classes but standing around at keg parties.
If only I had known then what I know now. Clichܬ right? But so true.
We learn so much in college, both about the world and ourselves. That is part of the experience, part of the fun of being in college. However, sometimes I wish I had cut a few corners, learned things the easy way to have one less heartbreak.
But would I take even one of those nights back? No, absolutely not. Learning about ourselves and about life is never easy. Then again, most things in life worth having are not easy, either.
College is the time of safety nets. Here we have the ability to take chances and not fall flat on our faces when we stumble.
We all make mistakes along the way. Some of us make the same ones three or four times. In the end, our mistakes are not to be cried over but to be cherished for making us stronger.
Neither can mistakes be regretted. Regrets don’t help us. Instead, they only hold us back.
We are constantly preparing ourselves for something bigger and better. In high school, everything was about preparing for college. Now college is about preparing for life. Here we can reinvent ourselves a dozen times before finding the right fit.
When I was growing up, my mother always told me that I did things the hard way. She said that I should just listen to her because she had been there too.
Maybe that advice works for some. Maybe we should learn to be more cautious from watching others.
But the problem in this theory is simple-it cheats us of the experience. How can you truly know joy without pain, beauty without ugliness or safety without fear?
Without experiencing life, the good and the bad times, we cannot grow. We cannot become the people that we are meant to be.
Knowledge that we work for is so precious. It means more to us than what we have only been told. It shapes us into new people.
Learning in life is not an easy process. However, we were never promised it would be. Life is what we make of it, guided by our experiences and choices. Fortunately, we have been given a university full of peers to share this walk.
So make your years at MSU count. Make your decisions boldly. And never be afraid of what comes your way.