When I started college, I thought it was supposed to be one of the most fun points in my life. To that end, I have made numerous new friends and had countless memories that I wouldn’t trade for the world. As I’m moving on up through my years at UAH, though, I feel older and older compared to the newest class of freshmen that are swelling our ranks. It’s not even really an age thing anymore, either. The activities, the energy, the disregard for personal health in the form of substance use, etc. all show me I’ve ‘aged’. Does this mean I’m old at the ripe age of twenty-fun?

On the contrary (and this is something it took me a little bit to grasp), I’m not an old fart trapped in a young body. I’ve just moved past, or am still in the process of moving past, the behaviors that make me ‘young’ in the eyes of all my peers. It’s not a growing up thing as much as it is a growing wiser thing. Hell, sometimes it’s not even a wisdom thing. It’s a common sense thing (which means it should be common thought, and common sense isn’t all that common anymore, but I digress). Not following? Let me break it down for you.

Freshman me has an eight a.m. class. He either chooses option (a), go to bed reasonably early and makes sure he makes it to the class, or takes option (b), stay up late and pray to God the alarm you set wakes you up for class. For me, it was usually option (b) just because I could and because I was still grasping the whole ‘adult responsibilities’ concept. Now, fast-forward three years to the start of my now senior year. I have work at six a.m. every day of the week. Do I (a), go to bed early enough to get ready, or (b), stay up late and set two or three alarms to ensure I wake up? Obviously, I choose option (b) just because I’m a glutton for punishment and feel like the sleep deprivation I put my body through will never catch up to me (which, ironically, I also know is 100% not true).

That last one was mildly a joke, but the point is I’ve learned how to be a much more productive, responsible, and reliable person. I keep my room reasonably clean by spot cleaning over the course of the week as opposed to letting everything pile up (literally). I keep lists of things I need to buy when I go to the store instead of attempting to rely entirely on my memory, a memory that occasionally struggles to remember basic concepts on an engineering exam. I keep track of all my class assignments, quizzes, and tests that are coming soon in a planner as well as big events, meetings, and any other nonsense I can think of. I work, I go to class, I fulfill organization obligations, and I do homework before following through on social time. It all seems so basic now.

Do all these little activities make me into an old man? In the eyes of some, yeah. It actually does. To be honest, I don’t

care. In the grand scheme of things, this is the way I’ve found to handle my life that actually works out rather well. I’m juggling more things at this point in my life than I ever have. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel stressed out to my breaking point. So, laugh all you want when I go to bed at ten o’clock before work. One day, you may be comparing your activities to those of the people under you and think, “Wow. I’ve gotten old.”