Recently, I’ve found myself thinking about last summer and how it was supposed to be my “last hurrah” of freedom before slipping away into a career.
That “last hurrah” I had planned in my head didn’t quite come to fruition. Not to say I didn’t enjoy the experiences I had, but perhaps it just wasn’t enough.
I spent last summer working 40 hours, if not more, on second shifts. Most of my friends, who I wanted to spend the summer with, ended up either working the morning shift or overnight.
These schedule conflicts ruled out those envisioned nights of going out to any bar in a 20-mile radius, trips to Mount Pleasant or even just playing video games with each other. In retrospect, this makes me feel like I wasted time hoping for a grand finale.
With work and an internship sidelining me from having an amazing social life last year, I was really banking on the summer to have a lot more fun in-store. In reality, my expectations were set high and they didn’t match reality.
That leads to now, where this thought of “what are you waiting for?” has emerged. As it stands, I have no excuses for not fully enjoying the school year ahead. I can’t say I’m busy with work or I have to be at my internship. At the end of the day, the reasons I couldn’t enjoy my summer were just an excuse, no matter how valid. What a hard realization that is.
I’ve wasted too much time on an excuse not to do something. Now, I regret it. I’m happy to report that I’ve been actively out and about so far this year. A Tigers game, multiple stints at multiple bars and current plans to travel around.
However, that aforementioned feeling of it just not being enough still looms. Is all this going to be enough at the end of the day? After all, I’ve only a handful of months left until graduation. Then, it’s over. No more school. No more college. The years of my life that have granted me the most freedom and that have most transformed me as a person are over. That’s not the greatest feeling.
Despite all the things I’ve experienced in my time at Ferris, I’m left questioning if it’s enough. As I stare at the upcoming end of my college career, I’m terrified at the idea of coming out of it with nothing. I feel like I’m grasping at a thread that’s continuously just slipping further and further away.
This brings me back to the question “What are you waiting for?” What am I waiting for? There’s no time like the present and I’m attempting to make the most of what I have now. Regardless of that feeling of it being enough, if I don’t try to make it enough, what’s the point? If you at all relate to these words, ask yourself the question: What are you waiting for?
To Ferris students and beyond, go out with your friends. Go to that party. Go to that bar. Get involved with something on campus. Simply put, you’ll have no idea what you have until it’s gone. I’ve already felt like I’ve wasted my previous years as a Bulldog, even if it’s not truly the case. Avoid that feeling. Fill your day or life up with activity until you drop from exhaustion.
These times of our lives, ones that are cherished as the best of it, are fleeting. Go out and make the most of it before it’s too late.