Nothing is more annoying than having someone tell you what to do. Starting from high school you’re told you have to go college. In college you are told that you should participate in university activities. Even in this column you are reading I was begged to write it and I finally put my foot down to never write it. Why must I write this too? Graduation is around the corner and all I want is to do nothing. As a freshman at the Savannah College of Art and Design, I wanted to do nothing. I felt successful when I dodged my RA’s attempts at dragging me to campus events. I won’t be filled with regret tomorrow, next week, or the next decade. The worst part is looking back on that freshman year I had in Savannah and thinking, ‘If my RA hadn’t taken me to those events I would have had a boring college life.’ I don’t want to admit that getting out and going to those events was what I needed to meet people and break out of my comfort zone.
In regards to this column, The Wichitan adviser Bradley Wilson and the editor Ethan Metcalf wouldn’t stop telling me to write this reflection to, and I quote, “Leave behind wisdom!” I don’t believe that there is any wisdom, only different people saying the same thing over and over, which probably means something.
After I finished my first degree, I regretted not getting more involved on campus. I regretted choosing to not study abroad. I regretted not getting to know more people. When I came back to school at Midwestern State University, I decided I wasn’t going to leave with the same regrets. I studied abroad, picked up photography, joined The Wichitan staff, and I’ve met and stayed friends with a diverse group of people. I didn’t get in my own way like I did at SCAD, and when I made mistakes I admitted it. Kind of. Sorry for being late to class, Dr. Sernoe.
If I have “wisdom” to gave, it would be don’t just go to class and go back to your dorm room. Get involved and try new things. Go to events that organizations around campus promote. You won’t know until you try, and if you wait, you might regret it.
