College years not only for learning inside the classroom

As a senior here at Texas A&M University-Commerce, I am experiencing many "lasts:" my last time to schedule an exciting, new batch of classes, my last Chi Omega formal, my last course of one of my majors, etc. Nearing the end of my college career, I can peacefully say that I have no regrets from my time at this university, but I want to do what I can to ensure that as many of our readers feel the same as I do when they reach their graduation. 

When I came to Commerce, I was terrified.  For the first time in my life, I wasn't with the same people from the same town I had been in all of my life.  I was still the same outgoing, social butterfly who didn't have a shy bone in her body, but for some reason I was scared.  The thought of going to class (assuming I could find it) and not knowing anyone around me made me cringe. 

Looking back now, it seems quite stupid.  This campus isn't THAT big and I have never had a class in which I did not make friends.  But, at the time, I was a scared little fishy that had been tossed into the ocean of life to fend for myself, and I was not happy about it.

After sulking for a little while, I grew tired of feeling worthless and helpless and decided to get my act together. 

I met fellow members of the Honors College that surrounded me in my new habitat; I joined various organizations, which both kept me busy and made me feel like I was actually doing something meaningful. I got a job (that turned into multiple jobs), which taught me responsibility and reward. Most importantly, I had fun. 

I put myself out into the collegiate world and immersed myself in activity.  Everyone always told me that my freshman year of college would be the hardest, most exciting year of my time spent in college, and I made sure to prove that true. 

However, after that freshman year there are a few more to come.  For me it was only two more years since I am graduating one year early, but for many it will be three or four or who knows how many.  The initial goal is to get involved and make sure that you are doing something other than going to class, studying and sleeping, but after that step you have to make sure you stay involved.  It is easy to join organizations or get a job, but keeping up with them is the real chore. 

More times than I can count I have heard people say, "I can't join this or I can't do that because I am just too busy."  After that statement, they proceed to tell me that they are in 15 hours of classes and all they do is go to class and study and sleep.  Seriously? Give me a break.

That is the sorriest excuse for laziness around.  If I am in 19 hours, including an honors course, working more than one job, involved in multiple clubs and holding executive positions in two of them, I feel sure you can drag your feet a little less. 

I didn't just tell all of you part of my resume to brag, I told you because sometimes personal testimony is the only motivation that works.  I was recently asked if I had gotten everything I wanted to get out of college or if there were still things missing.  There will always be more things I wish I could have done, because that is the person I am.  However, there is only so much one person can do in a three-year college experience. 

At the end of the day, I am happy about my successes, failures, experiences and lessons learned.  I could have easily been that hermit that did nothing but scholastic work, but that is no way to live.  I am one of the most academic-oriented, nerdy people you will ever come across, but there is more to the world than books and A's.  Don't let yourself be full of regret when you sit in that forever-long graduation ceremony or 20 years down the road when you watch your own child live out their college dreams.