Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: Showcase

So … this is how it all ends. They warn of this before you leave high school, they harp on it throughout your freshman year and they reassure you of it during the home stretch.

They were right.

Any parent or relative will tell you to cherish the time you have during the youthful stages of your life, especially during your college career.

Of course, you nod your head, smile and tell them it won't happen. Then you cross the stage while asking yourself, "Didn't I just get here?"

Too often, I find students at this university itching to get out of college. Some cram 18 credits in a few semesters to make the four-year spread while others jump on Winterim and summer courses. There are even a select few that find ways out in three years (ask 2004 graduate Jonah Spegman).

It seems for some, college is just another obstacle to hurdle before making it in the real world. Some just want those gold degree-audit bubbles to turn blue and move on with life.

College, however, is more than simply fulfilling requirements and posting good grades in order to find success. It's a time to discover yourself. And that experience is only dependent on you. You will always get out of something what you put into it.

Don't sell yourself short when immersing yourself in the college experience. Time doesn't wait for you to cherish each moment; that's solely up to you. Before you know it, you're standing next to loved ones posing for graduation pictures.

This is what makes time so precious; you never really appreciate it until it's gone. It's similar to youth. It's only a short fragment of life, but you never quite have all the tools necessary to fully appreciate it. Instead, you think you'll always have it, until you wake up one morning and it's already passed you by.

College is the same way. If you set limitations, you never experience the positives.

This time is not one-dimensional. It's more than just Water Street or obtaining your major. It's about taking the time you have and using it to the full extent.

I can't stress this enough because you never fully realize how important and fun college is until it passes you by. I even tried to delay myself an extra semester, but now it seems that I just arrived for a new one.

For those who are just starting here, never be afraid to try new things, even if they seem odd or too challenging at first. You may surprise yourself.

Be random. When it's 1 a.m. Tuesday morning and your friends call you to Perkins, go for it. Make a music video with some friends on a cold Friday night, sing at The Cabin even when no one comes to see you or duel in the hallway of your residence hall or off-campus house. Just don't fall into the same old, same old all the time.

For those halfway out of here, do the things I wish I would have. Study abroad or try the National Student Exchange program. Don't be afraid to meet our university's administrators (they reside in Schofield). I remember a time when I couldn't name one person in administration outside of the chancellor; now I wave to them in passing almost every day.

"I love to see students stop into my office. My door is always open to students," Interim Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson said. "The administrators are here because of the students."

The same rule applies to professors, even the ones you don't get along with. Take time out of your schedule and meet with them, but don't talk about class-related things.

Instead, ask them about why they came here, why they enjoy teaching, what goals they have and so forth. You will find many of these professors want the best for you, even if it doesn't appear that way through their teaching method.

And for those students with a semester or two weeks separating them from the stage, do the things you always wanted to do, but never got around to. Go support the Blugolds in Zorn Arena, see a campus film in Davies Theatre, go for a Wal-Mart run at 2 a.m. Time doesn't wait for you. You have to seize it.

I've always lived my time here and everywhere else with the goal to be remembered. Let's be honest; you meet thousands of people through life experiences and remember only a select few.

This is why I've been random my entire life, why I'll say "hi" to strangers passing by, why I'm never afraid to tell someone how I truly feel.

I sincerely hope the people I met here in college will remember me when this time has passed. I hope they remember my crazy sarcasm, my bold nature, my sincerity and my service to the university.

I didn't write close to 200 Spectator articles just for my major. I did it because I want our readers to be informed and I want them to seize their college careers.

Thank you to everyone here at UW-Eau Claire for everything. I wouldn't be where I am today without your help. I miss it already.

Slater is a senior print journalism and history major and a news editor of The Spectator.

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