Time is a really funny thing. There’s 365 days in a year, seven days in a week, and only 24 short hours in a day. The average college student sleeps around six to eight hours a night, leaving them with only 16-18 hours to do everything else they’re expected to do.

Eat.

Work.

Exercise.

Socialize.

Study.

Wasting time is not an option.

I spend my summers at camp, and when I was 12, my entire summer was centered around a single acronym A.L.E.M—Always Live Every Moment. With my first week of college under my belt, I can see that term being very relevant in my life again.

Time is already flying by here at school, and I am having the time of my life. I am totally living every moment, whether it be exploring the midtown area or doing cartwheels up and down my hallway in the dorm. There have already been so many moments in time I’ve wanted to savor and soak up and I’m so excited to A.L.E.M here at Wayne. I know its only been a week, but I want to share a few things I’ve learned about time since I’ve been at school.

1. Don’t waste your own time. Don’t wait around for something to happen—make it happen.
2. Spend your time the way you want to. You want to skip that morning shower for an extra 10 minutes of sleep? Do it. You want to ditch class 5 minutes early so you can grab lunch with your friends? Do that, too.
3. Don’t waste time on people or things that don’t better your life. Life is way too short to be unhappy.
4. Don’t waste other people’s time. Being late is rude—it shows people you don’t care for their time and value your time more than you value theirs.
5. People measure their time in different ways. Don’t belittle other people's time or bend your own values to meet other's standards. You might measure your time in cups of coffee while somebody else uses the sunsets (yes that was a super cliché "RENT" reference).
6. Clocks just display a number. Stay up until 3 a.m. and tell jokes with your friends. Study until 2 a.m. It’s just a number on a wall, and it's whatever you make of it.
7. Time flies when you’re having fun. Let it fly. Have fun.

There is so much I’m still trying to figure out about time. Like how to balance all the things I’m expected to do and find a routine that works best for me. I always have minor freak-outs because there never seems to be enough hours in a day. I’m also still trying to figure out how I’m already in college! It seriously seems like yesterday I was dancing in the rain as a 12-year-old camper screaming A.L.E.M to the sky. I guess I’ve just been having too much fun.

I have no idea what the future holds, but as of right now, I’m only planning on spending four years here at Wayne State. That means I only have 1,460 days to make a million memories. I better get going.