Page 3
kansan.com
Graduation Guide 2014-2015
+
What college taught me: Do things that scare you
s a senior getting ready to leave this lovely University, I guess my
advice to you would be this: Do things that scare you.
Do you remember how someone looks when you first meet them? You reach out your hand and say, "Hi, my name's Paige. It's so nice to meet you." You ask what they study and where they're from. You know, typical freshman questions.
Then, months later when you're sitting on the floor together eating Jimmy John's or pizza (probably pizza), sharing stories, you look at them and see them in an entirely different light. They're almost unrecognizable. It's like that person you met earlier was a shell of the person who would become so important to you.
I can say that about every one of my friends I've made here. Not that they were a shell of a
Five semesters ago I walked into the University Daily Kansan newsroom and sat down for an interview to be a correspondent copy editor. I had just decided to switch to journalism and knew I needed to get involved with the newspaper to boost my résume. I had no idea that two years from that point I'd be walking out of the newsroom as managing editor. What started out as a few-hours-a-week job became my life.
today. But it did.
human until I graced them with my presence, but that they were a mystery, full of potential. I never would have guessed how important they would be to me until later.
KRISTEN SELSTAD/KANSAN
"I won't remember staying up late to study ... I'll remember leaving someone mid-conversation when " Ignition (Remix)" came on at the Sandbar."
I can say the same thing about my entire experience at the University of Kansas. I knew my four years at the University would be important to me, but I had no idea just how big of an impact it would have. I remember walking through campus and never once thinking about how it all would become part of who I am
I won't remember staying up late to study for a final or whatever I learned in Western Civ. Instead I'll remember the late nights that ended in a trip to Muncher's at 2 a.m. for a cream cheese doughnut. I'll remember the ringing in my ears after Thomas Robinson's block against Mizzou's Phil Presssey. I'll remember sitting on the roof of my friends' apartment complex. I'll
remember taking naps on stacks of newspapers after producing The Kansan's 72- back Back To School behemoth. I'll remember leaving someone mid-conversation when "Ignition (Remix)" came on at the Sandbar.
I'm about to embark on the biggest adventure of my young
life — the leap into the wide unknown. I'm going to spread my figurative wings and fly and hopefully not get sucked into the engine of the airplane called life.
Had I not moved into a dorm, applied for The Kansan, studied abroad in Ireland, etc., I would have wasted my time
here. I would have walked through the Campanile this Sunday and asked myself if I had done all that I could.
But instead, I'm going to walk through and remember how beautiful these four years have been. Then I'll go back to focusing on not falling down the hill in my heels.
+
What they don't tell you about college as a freshman
W when the word "college" comes to mind,you
probably think "the best four years of your life" because that's what everyone tells you.
I'm not here to tell you this is not the case, because in my personal experience, my four years at the University have been just that — the best moments of my 22 years of living. However, there are some things they don't tell you. And that is what I'm here for.
People tell you to make the most of your college experience because time flies, but they can't tell you just how fast.
A friend, whose teacher gave them this golden thought nugget, told me the other day
that "college years are like dog years," and it has stuck with me since. Time flies and so much changes in one year. How could it possibly have only been 365 days?
Significant others come and go, classes are aced and failed, parties get out of hand and mistakes are made. But this is what shapes you. Experience teaches you. Failure proves that
you can get back up. Friends are there to hold your hand along the wav.
I chose The Kansan as my extracurricular activity to devote my time and energy to and am so thankful my freshman-year self made that decision. It has taught me more about myself and the ever-changing field of journalism than anything else.
Studying abroad in Germany taught me more than I could have ever imagined — but we'll save that for another column.
The point is this: Don't just find your "Kansan" or study abroad. Do more.
They tell you it will be the best time of your life,but they don't tell you it will also be the hardest.
Graduating high school and
leaving home is nothing short of exciting; new school, new friends, new parties. But it's also exhausting. Studying takes on a whole new meaning when you have three finals on the same day. Unlimited food per each Mrs. E's trip gets old when it's the same chicken strips, pizza and sandwiches every time.
School does come first, don't get me wrong — you aren't left with tens of thousands of dollars of debt when you graduate for nothing. But I encourage you to look outside of the classroom for learning opportunities. Spend your time doing things that you will remember decades from now.
For example: It's Friday, your favorite artist is playing a show four hours away and your friends are begging you to come, in but order to make it in time, you have to skip your afternoon class. If your final grade absolutely depends on it, stay. But if not, then what's the harm?
three points of attendance I missed that Friday. I remember my dad's birthday, not the assignment I stayed up all night finishing so I could head home for the weekend. I remember the laughs, the days spent at Clinton Lake and the hours in the car adventuring to somewhere new.
You start to miss mom's cooking and how easy high school was, and maybe you even wish you could be a freshman forever, but don't. Because when you're sitting in my shoes as a senior with less than one week until graduation, you'll think differently.
I remember the long weekend I spent in St. Louis with my best friends, not the
You're told to get your work done, do it well and get good grades, but find that necessary
So as a graduating senior who is struggling with parting from this beautiful campus I've been fortunate enough to call home, I ask you to make the most of your years here. Don't be afraid to choose fun over responsibility every once in a while.
balance.
Grades are final at the end of each semester, but the friends you meet your first night in the dorms and the memories you've made are forever.
CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES OF 2015!
YOU MADE IT!
+