Don’t Waste Your Time

I find it very entertaining to look back at all the energy that I have spent. I do believe that every single activity, and “the old college try” help to make every student a better version of him or herself. That disclaimer aside, I think I have made lots of effort that was never built onto further. From classes to activities and community service, there is a lot of exerted energy that I would have wished to conserve in retrospect. The irony of it all is that, I do not wish that my previous two years were filled with “smarter” decisions, but rather “my” decisions.

Even within a 5 year college plan, college life is still short. Whether the activities are social, academic, or professional, there is not a lot of room to pursue other people’s dream. Did your friend want to join an intramural volleyball team? If it is not your thing, it might be time to make a “you” decision. A “you” decision is never a waste of neither time nor effort. In fact, if a “you” decision means that you are going to pursue a minor that is disconnected from your major, for example, accounting and basket weaving, then go for it. If it is a truly “you” decision, it will not be something worth regretting in your junior year. No one said that just because you changed up your schedule meant that your life goal was to have a basket boutique. While attending an institution of higher learning is meant to provide you with base skills, experience, and the credentials to succeed in the game of life, college is a personally “you” thing.

Many of the colleges and universities are geared to sell generic formulas. Not a personally “you” formula. Although I had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree during my freshman year, it would have been nice to take the time out for myself to get to know my desires. It would have been great to know what I wanted my professional impact to be before I met some of the professors, and had some of the extracurricular opportunities. Going through the process of finding out what you want out of an education helps you form an educated plan that is tailored to YOU. What portion of tailoring a college experience has to do with not wasting your time?

Well, for one thing, taking the long way to get somewhere is never pleasant. Most importantly, it would save anyone from any reinvestment of time and money into education. How many times did people you know change majors after MANY credits? How many times did people stay undeclared just to find out that they have missed an important piece of the curriculum during that time? This is not just college academics. This is about activities, romances, etc. Prolonging an unhealthy relationship is simply keeping an old band-aid on. Doing an activity just because it looks great on a resume will not seem more worthwhile than one that you were truly interested in. Not wasting your time is the best way to take back a college experience.

Although we try to avoid it, wasting our time is something my friends, and I are good at. I think I spent the first two years of college crossing things off the generic checklist, rather than focusing on how I wanted to tailor my experience. Although I know that everything did have an impact of personal growth, activities that I genuinely wanted to do were more worthwhile. Some more food for thought is that when we have a desire to learn something, try out a job, or participate in an extracurricular activity, it is a want or a need that comes from somewhere important, you. Whether it is for a better sense of accomplishment or simply for more expression, pursuing this need or want will be worthwhile.