Year one of my higher education is drawing to a close. As of writing this I have been on this campus for 197 days. The end of this semester will conclude with the completion of 31 credits, over 42 hours of community service, having ran a half marathon, read through five different books, had more than 15 articles published, learned to cross country ski and crocheted three scarfs. But, now that the end is nigh, skis put away and the heavy jackets hung up, I find myself wondering about my future here.
Before arriving, I only knew that Michigan Tech was far north, cold and where I was going to college. I had never visited or taken the time to even look up pictures. The knowledge I had of college was even less, spanning a small collection of movies spinning the same tropes and stereotypes. Thus the day before moving in, I packed my car, loaded up directions on my phone and spent 12 hours traveling through places I had never been to a location even more mysterious.
Once here, I immediately switched majors. My class schedule was flipped on its head. Homework quickly piled up onto my new desk. Even under this load though I found countless opportunities to chase after many things that would have eluded me elsewhere. The truth, though, is that I’ve been lazy.
In a day we have 24 hours. Eight of those hours tend to be spent sleeping, four hours of classes and five hours of homework. That leaves seven hours in which I eat, read and play video games. This totals up to almost one thousand hours here that I could have spent doing something more productive.
Now to the current moment. I sit upon the last rolling crest before we hit summer and I have to wonder what I will be up to. I do not currently have a job lined up or a definite plan to follow. This is one of the many hooks hidden about college that I have learned. Teachers and faculty will bend over backwards to give a student the instructions and tools of a trade but shrug their shoulders when asked where we should go with them.
In conclusion here is my advice from my year here. If an opportunity presents itself, strike at it. If something has hold of your fancy, chase it. Don’t let your ambitions be little and never let another decide your future.
