As a college senior, I’m counting down the days until graduation day. All my hard work and dedication from the last seventeen years is about to pay off. I’ve accepted my first teaching job, I’m getting married, and I’m so eager to begin the next chapter of my life. However, what you don’t know is I’ve been so eager to finish college and begin adulting that I haven’t taken the time to stop and enjoy the ride. With that being said, I’m writing this to you, underclassmen, so that you realize how important it is to stop and enjoy the ride on your journey through your final years before adulthood.

Through my journey at college, I’ve made so many lifelong friends. When it all began freshman year, I created endless amounts of memories with my new friends. However, as the years continued, both my friends and I grew busier and busier. Before we knew it, student teaching time arrived, and it became quite hectic. In fact, we became so busy that the amount of memories we could create began to dwindle. Now that my senior year is coming to an end, I’m filling with sadness. My sadness comes because I’m realizing that we are all getting jobs in different areas of the state. After this year, it will be even more challenging to create memories. So, underclassmen, please take note. However busy you may be during your senior year, it is so important to make those memories with friends. When adulting begins, you’ll go your separate ways. These are your final moments together.

Life as an education major is a constant struggle between trying to balance student life and teacher life. I’m not eight months into student teaching, and I still haven’t quite found my balance. However, one thing I know for sure is that I’m often spending more of my time being the teacher rather than the student. Balancing the teacher and student life is easier said than done. My teacher life has me arriving at school early and staying at school late to attend meetings. It also has me lesson planning, grading, and thinking about my students all twenty-four hours of the day. With all that being said, there is not much time left for me to be a student. So, my advice to you, underclassmen, is to remember that you are a student. It is okay to take time for yourself and enjoy all that comes along with being a college student. You deserve a break from being a teacher all the time.

I may not have taken the entire four years of college to enjoy the crazy ride; however, I’m going to make it a point to enjoy what I have left because, underclassmen, it will flash before your eyes. Before you know it, you’ll no longer be counting down the days to adulthood. You’ll instead be wishing you were savoring the moments that came along with your final year of college.