It's no surprise that graduation is seen as such a huge milestone for most of us. University is such a great accomplishment to have in your tool belt for many reasons—whether you're applying for a job, graduate school, or simply learning life skills in general.
When you persevere through college, having a degree to show for it is worth a thousand, if not more, words. This is especially true for this year's graduates, who are looking forward to finishing their degrees and facing the numerous challenges that come with graduation, including an unending Asuu strike.
Your senior year, though, is much more than just graduation. University is about more than just graduating. Yes, graduation is a significant milestone, and I would encourage anyone to commemorate it in whatever way they see fit, but it is not the objective of University.
While it is true that expanding your professional skill sets for job is important, and that having a degree opens many possibilities, university exploration offers so much more. University is one of the few opportunities in life to genuinely discover oneself.
University is a period where you can learn more about your passions. That one math lesson you're having trouble with? Perhaps once you've bypassed that obstacle, you'll discover a new enthusiasm for arithmetic.
Or maybe that one English class you thought you'd enjoy since you're brilliant at it turns out to be rather boring, and you'd rather study something more challenging.
Perhaps after learning more about the computer science degree during your first year before declaring a major, you discover that you aren't interested in it after all, but theatre seems fascinating, and the improve club meeting you attended captured your attention.
Maybe you're halfway through your communication degree and decide to double major in anthropology after hearing a guest lecturer from one of the department's professors. You learn these things and more, things you would never have considered if you hadn't taken the classes required for your major or those that filled in the gaps in your major's credits.
University is also a period where you learn about people from different backgrounds. You may come across young people who are just beginning out in life, living in your residence halls, off-campus, or at home with family, and who are unsure what they want to do after graduation.
You might also meet older folks, some of whom are married, some of whom have children, some of whom have served in the military or have previous work experience, and who are looking to return to school. You might go upon someone who has known she wants to be a chemist since middle school and has already begun planning for medical school.
You might also meet someone who has been a parent for ten years and is returning to university because that new technical writing degree captured their interest.
International students studying abroad, first-generation university students, transfer students who attended polytechnics or another school before enrolling at their present institution, and students from all walks of life are among the people you might meet.
You will never meet someone who is exactly like you in university ; instead, you will learn about people from all over the world who are all attending university for similar but distinct reasons. Self-exploration is undoubtedly one of those motivations.
There are virtually no limits to what you can learn in university. You probably won't care about your grades, how well you did in your classes, or how long it took you to graduate at the end of the day. What I hope matters to you is that you made the most of your college years. Isn't it true that life is all about savoring every moment?
Thanks for reading...