“Man, I don’t know where the time goes, but it sure goes fast.” Somehow the words of Kenny Chesney perfectly illustrate how fast four years of college go by. I truly cannot believe how quickly the most fun four years of my life have passed by. College is unique in that we have an immense amount of freedom with fairly little responsibility. Given this, my best advice is to take advantage of every opportunity Wooster gives you.
The tuition at Wooster is anything but cheap. That being said, the quality of education that Wooster offers is comparable to its sticker price. With its small class sizes and professors who are here to teach rather than publish, Wooster is a great place to get an education. There are a variety of support networks for students. Wooster gives its students every opportunity to succeed academically.
Take advantage of these opportunities. Visit professors during their office hours. Set up appointments at the Writing Center. There is a tendency to pose as a slacker and see how much return you can get out of your minimum effort. This, however, isn’t exactly getting the best benefit on your $45,000-per-year investment. College is the one place where you can immerse yourselves academically in subjects you find important and interesting.
Wooster also offers a host of extracurricular activities. Throw yourself into activities you’ve never tried. The point of a liberal arts education is to broaden your horizons ó this doesn’t apply solely to the classroom. Over four years, I’ve become involved in the newspaper, the radio station, a fraternity, the marching band, the new student orientation committee, as well as a host of other activities I’m glad I tried. While I have enjoyed the academic challenges at Wooster, extracurricular pursuits are where I’ve found the most fulfillment.
Finally, college only lasts four years ó live it up. The students with the authentic college experiences are those who have played as hard as they’ve worked. In high school, I never partied. When I got to Wooster, I decided to join a fraternity ó talk about broadening your horizons.
My friends and I have had more than a few nights where we had so much fun we had to piece the evening together the next morning. While I don’t recommend this as a regular weekend routine, everything should be practiced in moderation. Moreover, by some stretch, my fraternity elected me president. Only if Bissman Hall became a dry dormitory next year can I think of a more unlikely scenario.
The social aspect of college is far and away what I’ll miss the most. For four years, I’ve gotten to live on the same floor with 24 of my closest friends. To say it’s been a blast is as gross an understatement as saying the U.G. is a little dingy. My friends are the reason the last four years have been the most meaningful of my life, and they’re the reason why driving away next Monday evening after commencement will be difficult.
At some point, though, everyone is ready to move on. I’m far more ready to go now than I was even a month ago. I feel like I’ve squeezed as much into four years as I can. While my plan for the immediate future is still as murky as the plotline of “Lost,” after four years I feel like I’m ready to chase down new challenges.
There will be a great many times next year, though, where I think back to my days at Wooster and wish for the times when the living was easy.† In the words of country singer Pat Green, “There’s a time and place for just about everything ó it’s called college.”