As the school year winds down and summer approaches, everyone at NC State is thinking about how they’re going to spend it. Whether you’re interning, working, taking summer classes or traveling to new locations (lucky you), the question on everyone’s mind is, “What are you doing this summer?”
That question never used to sadden me, until I realized that this is my second-to-last summer vacation. If, like me, you’re graduating next spring or next fall, this may be one of your last summer vacations ever. That’s right, let that sink in.
I look back on how I spent summer as a rising sophomore in college, and there is a stark difference. Before, I was excited and the future of senior year felt too far away to be concerned with. Now I am still excited, but also extremely anxious, because I realize the future and graduation are closer than ever.
Gone are the days of sitting on my couch and watching reruns, gone are the days of little responsibility and naiveté. Now everyone around me is polishing up their resumes and LinkedIn profiles, praying for job interviews and hoping for grad school acceptances. Childhood as we all know it is winding down with each and every summer.
All of this has me thinking about how I should make the most of my last days at NC State, and all the things I’ve yet to do. As a transfer student, my perspective is starkly different from most everyone else’s. There are a ton of traditions, that in my one semester here thus far, I have yet to do. As I think about the next school year and adulthood looming around the corner, I believe it is important for me and for all of us to make as many memories as possible and participate in everything we can.
Next year, I plan on participating in Shack-a-Thon to help Habitat for Humanity, participating in the Krispy Kreme Challenge, participating in Dance Marathon, joining at least one new club, actually taking advantage of the cycling classes in Carmichael, painting something in the Free Expression Tunnel, taking the Polar Plunge, which involves jumping into the freezing cold waters of Lake Raleigh to benefit the Special Olympics, and finally, climbing the Belltower.
Okay, I am definitely kidding about the last thing on that list, but as for the others, I am at least going to try.
Whether, like me, you’re a transfer student and you want to figure out how to make the most of your days at NC State, or you have been here since freshman year, I believe doing any number of the things I mentioned are important to consider, if you haven’t done them already. College flies by, which is something I have been realizing now lately more than ever.
It is so easy while we are all going to our own classes, hanging out with our friends and living our lives to forget that time flies by whether we stop to appreciate it or not. I could be sad about the fact that in less than two years I will be a graduated adult, out in the world without the safety net of this college or this community. Or, instead, as cheesy as it sounds, I can try and make as many memories as possible to remember NC State, and remember a time that I, and all of us, will never have again.
So yeah, I’m a little sad now that I realize that this is one of my last summer vacations, and next year will be the last full year of college I will ever have. But I am going to challenge myself, and all of you, to at least try to make it the most memorable year yet.
