If you would have asked me four years ago what I value most, it would have probably been some type of materialistic thing like most high schoolers. Now, the older I get, the more I realize that I would much rather have experiences with people than waste my time on material things.

For many, college teaches you this concept by seeing all of the different people around you. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, and there’s not one that right or wrong. You start to clearly understand that our generation is wrong, and the worth of a person is never defined by anything materialistic.

Until you live in a dorm with people from all types of different backgrounds from you, you never understand how great people can be even though they’re different from you. My college experience has shown me that I’m going to look back years from now, and not remember what shirt I bought while I was shopping with my friends, I’m going to remember those people I was with and the memories we made.

Don’t get me wrong, shopping is fun, but the material things are empty at the end of the day. Invest and put time into people and things that matter. So many people I know can have a blast doing anything under the sun instead of blowing tons of money on things that don’t matter. I look up to these people and strive to be like them every day.

If you’re going to spend money, do it on experiences. A concert, a music festival, a trip. Do some things that are going to make memories you’ll remember forever. Out of my eight roommates, five are about to graduate in May. This will be one of the hardest parts of college because those girls aren’t just my roommates, they’re my best friends.

A couple weeks ago we all went to Miami on spring break together as kind of our last hoorah before all of them graduate or go to grad school. It was such a great week and we all had a blast, but think about it, do you think years from now my roommates and I will look back and talk about how fancy our Airbnb was, or how nice our beach was? No. We will remember the experiences.

Leon Brown once said: “One day you will realize those material things mean nothing. All that matters is the well-being of the people in your life.” This is the truest quotes I’ve ever met. Once you start to value this in your life, you will be a lot happier because your focus will be on the things that matter.

Once we realize as a generation that we need to value people and experiences more than material things, we can start investing our time into things that actually matter. When I look back on the memories with my roommates, I will remember friendships and experiences that will last a lifetime. Take this to heart and use your time wisely. Life is so short. So, make sure you water the flower you want to grow.