Junior year is different. While I was excited to go back to school, I can’t say that I stayed up at night dreaming about what college would be like as I did my freshman year. I can’t say I attended every campus event as I tried to do my freshman year. I can’t even say I have completed as many late night Taco Bell runs this year.
Instead, I spent a lot of my time on schoolwork. I spent a lot of time building my résumé. I spent a lot of time looking for internships. Honestly, I spent most of my time preparing for the time when I am no longer at Ouachita and working to further my career. That is my problem with junior year.
When I was a freshman, it wasn’t uncommon for me to stay up until three in the morning. Now, I begin to stress out if I am not asleep by one. It is a struggle between wanting to create college memories that I will cherish forever and wanting to live a healthy lifestyle academically, physically and spiritually.
As a student, it is imperative that I achieve all academic goals set before me. This is, after all, the reason I am paying large sums of money to go to Ouachita. Gaining the experience I need to be successful after college is obviously a priority. In order to reach these goals, though, I need to take care of myself physically by eating well, drinking lots of water, working out and getting plenty of sleep. These things take time as well. On top of this, I also need to spend time in Scripture and in prayer to receive spiritual nourishment. As important as this is, it also consumes time.
At the end of the day, there simply isn’t time for those college memories my parents always talk about. Though I try to nurture the relationships I have, they often have just as little time as I do to enjoy one another’s company.
This made me reflect on the value of time. Time is something I think everyone can agree as being a valuable concept. We try to use it wisely. We try to make sure every second is being used toward a greater good. At the end of the day, though, there will always be the end of the day. I will never get it back.
When I was a kid, I used to look forward to the mystical place called college. It would be like a slumber party every night. My friends and I would get into weird shenanigans. I would study hard but also play hard. It would be an experience I would never forget.
As I close my junior year, I am reminded that this time in my life that I have idolized for so long is quickly reaching an end of the day. I will complete one more semester at this school, and then I will not return again as a student. While part of this excites me because it will mean I will be able to move on in life to accomplish my dreams, I am reminded that my time for making those amazing college memories is running out. There will be a time soon where I will miss the instability of college. I will miss the Taco Bell runs and the all-night giggles. I will cherish the memories that I have, and my children will mock me for talking about my glory days.
So maybe not going to bed at exactly 11 wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Maybe making some more memories on top of the craziness of junior year won’t kill me. Junior year is different. It requires more from the students who reach it. At the end of the day, though, it won’t be my GPA I remember.
by Mattie Alexander, Staff writer
