Even though Thanksgiving is two weeks away, we’ve already checked out.
Across campus, students are hyper-complaining about their classes and the weather change. We’re all just overeager to get home.
By no means are we against celebrating the union of pilgrims and Native Americans or the reunion of you and your parents. When Thanksgiving break does come, please, by all means, thrill/shock them with wacky tales of your semester. But until then, let’s be here.
Being here, both physically and psychologically, gets a bad rep. But we think it’s good to be here. We like it here. And you know what? We think you like it here too. We think you’ll be upset when spring semester ends.
And guess what? For seniors, graduation is six months away. That’s it. Right now that seems like a lot of time. Like, enough time to have two-thirds of a baby. But that’s exactly why we’re writing this now. Before it’s too late.
A wise Bex once passed on this sage advice: Eliminate “I can’t wait” from your vocabulary. This sounds strange. But think about it. When you say you “can’t wait,” you’re dismissing the present. The time you’re anticipating now will eventually come. There’s no need to wish away the time between now and then.
Sure, you may really be excited to go home for Thanksgiving. Or to go to Miami for winter break. Or for the snow to melt.
But remember: College is here and now. And come graduation time, you’ll give almost anything for another night at the Rat or lazy day on the couch with your crew.
By stopping to speak in terms of what you can’t wait for, you’ll be forced to look around and appreciate what you do have. Take this weekend alone. We have “Rent” on the theatre department’s Mainstage. Why not get out of your bed, support your peers and get a little culture? Do something you don’t have to lie to your parents about.
We have two Binghamton Senators games Downtown this weekend. Sure, we don’t particularly know too much about hockey. But a synchronized match of brutality centered around drinking with community members? Why not? Bring a friend.
If your college experience is a series of countdowns to the next things for which you can’t wait, you’re missing the point.
People always complain that there’s nothing to do around here, but that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. You don’t need to look hard to find new events, and you should keep in mind the ones you know are happening, like First Friday, open mic nights at Cyber Café West or even taco night at the Belmar. Before you know it, it’ll be your last First Friday and your final chance to have a Belmar taco. And when that time comes, will you feel like it went down the way you wanted it to?
One thing is for sure: When it comes to graduation day, we’ll all feel like we can wait.