The G-Word

With all the excitement of the first week of classes winding down, it's given me some time to think about the dreaded g word: graduation. Although this semester has just started, I can't help thinking about the fact that it's my last. It seems like graduation is fast approaching and there is nothing we can do to slow it down. "Make the most of it," people tell us. "Enjoy your time in school, they're the best years of your life," older friends and family advise. But what exactly are we supposed to do? Stop time? It's like falling, when you know you're falling, and there is nothing you can do to stop it; you're mid air, already on your way down. You'll hit the ground eventually, and when the dust settles, you'll be okay, but you won't be in the same place, or the same person. The important thing isn't what will happen when you get up, but rather what you can do so that when you do get up, you can still appreciate the view from the top you had before you fell. So, it makes me think, is there really a way to "make the most" of our remaining months?

For me, to make the most of my last months at GW means spending as much time with my friends, participating in as many GW activities as I can, and absorbing as much knowledge as I can before leaving. I think most of all, it's important to do the things we love at GW while we still can. So I'm going to go to every basketball game I can. It means playing soccer with my club team as much as possible, grabbing dinner with my friends whenever we can manage the time, going out to our favorite nighttime spots, and recovering together the next morning. It means reading all of my assignments (or almost all of them), writing the best papers I can, and attending my classes regularly--even if they are at 8 a.m.  It means taking the time each day to appreciate the little things and the moments that will stay with you. I know I'll be sad to leave but it is my hope that I can leave with a smile on my face and the knowledge that I did all I could to make my college experience the best it could be.

We can't freeze time or stop the clock from ticking down, but we can try to appreciate the time we are given. But this kind of mentality should in no way be limited to seniors. Time will fly faster than you thought possible once you start your freshman year of college. It moves at warp speed, semester after semester passing and blurring together. It may sound trite and hackneyed, but before you know it, you'll be wondering where did the time go, just like every graduating college senior. My advice? Take the time to do the things you love and leave here a better person than you came in.

--Abby