Soaking up senior year

By NICOLETTE VALLEE

Staff Writer

“Enjoy it, because before you know it you’ll be in the real world.” Throughout college, almost everyone can agree that have heard some sort of variation of this quote. I tended to just shrug it off thinking I had so much time left. But then I blinked, and all of a sudden it’s the end of senior year and I am less than a month away from graduation. 

Multiple people warned me that it would go by in the blink of an eye, however I do not recollect anyone saying how stressful senior year would be. With the daunting worry about what is coming after graduation, the amount of deadlines seems to also be in the way of enjoying the last few weeks of college. 

These moments are the ones I am going to be looking back on for the rest of my life, so I want to make sure I will not regret anything. I now am aware how fast time really does go by and I will be making every day for the next three weeks count. 

Here are four lessons I learned throughout my senior year at UMW. 

1) Live in the present.
Senior year is full of deadlines, as well as stress about future plans. Having people ask 25 times about after graduation plans just comes with it. Although the future is obviously important, there is no reason to use the last months on campus planning for something that cannot really be controlled. 

I read somewhere once that post graduation is kind of like parenting. You can prepare yourself all you want, but you won’t actually understand what it’s like until you are living that life. 

The thing that worked for me was to set a certain amount of time every week to complete tasks regarding future plans. This allowed me to complete everything I needed to in a timely manner, without putting aside my homework. 

2) GPA is not everything.
Don’t get me wrong, getting good grades is hugely important in college. Lucky for us, UMW has many resources for students to use if they need some extra help. However, cumulative GPA is not the only aspect that future employers care about.

Throughout my senior year courses, I have learned that there are many characteristics that matter more than grades. This will definitely vary by different jobs and requirements, however this is based on my own personal experiences.

Internship and job experience, interview skills, as well as knowledge gained from college courses is just a few that come to mind. Being a well rounded individual with a friendly personality and job experience can outweigh GPA anyday. 

3) Appreciate your friends.

Friends made in college are most likely going to be lifelong. Experiencing such an important part of each others’ lives together turns them into family much more than friends. 

I think that almost everyone can agree that their friends have made their college experience into what it is. All the memories made include them, whether it is late nights studying or going out or meaningless trips to Giant. 
It’s scary to think that in such a short time, the people I spend most of my time with won’t be right across the hall. Due to this, I have learned to soak up the time having my friends so close and the time we have left together. 

4) Enjoy it.
In my opinion, this is the most important thing I have learned throughout my senior year. I will be looking back on memories from UMW for the rest of my life. Even though this is weird to say, I know one day I will miss having to complete essays and projects. That is why I am going to focus most of my time doing the things I will miss, which yes, include homework. It also includes spending as much time as I can with my friends, because I know I will miss seeing them everyday. 

Senior year will be missed, but I am excited to see what is next.