Seniors — in about 20 days, you’ll be returning from your last spring break at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All of a sudden, it’ll be Monday, March 31, and in about six weeks, we’ll be in our caps and gowns as official alumni of UW-Madison.
I know what you're thinking — you don’t want to think about it, it’s not real if you don’t think about it. While that may be true right now, it won’t be true forever. It’s time to face the music.
In the coming weeks, make sure to celebrate the parts you’ll miss most about Madison, but don’t forget about the future and all the amazing things to come, because Madison is a part of your past. Everything happening right now can be overwhelming, but time flies, and you can’t waste a minute of it. These last six weeks will be a time you remember for the rest of your life, and you have a choice: to waste them thinking about things you can’t control, or do your future self a favor and make the most of every moment.
So how should you spend your time?
Start by celebrating the past. Go to the places you love most about Madison, not with sadness about what’s happened, but to celebrate the great memories you made there. Get your group from freshman year together and go to your favorite spots. Walk to Picnic Point and stop at the Memorial Union Terrace on your way home. It can be difficult to find the right side of nostalgia — visiting places you loved three years ago when you were a freshman with your entire college career ahead of you is no easy task. Though it may be difficult, it’s worth the journey. Think about everything you learned from the mistakes you made then and how proud your freshman year self would be of you now.
Then, try to get excited about what’s to come. College gave us some of the best memories we could have made. But it also sets us up perfectly to enter the adult world. Whether you’re going straight into the workforce, taking a year or two off, going right back to school or any of the other countless opportunities we now have because we went here, now is the time to be grateful for what’s gotten you to where you are. We are so lucky to have our entire future right in front of us and the rest of our lives about to begin.
But don’t forget to live in the present. It can be hard to put thoughts about the future and past to the side, but if you’re thinking too much about what’s happened or what’s to come, you’ll miss the final moments you have in the place you love most. Stop in the restaurant you walk past every day that you've always wanted to try. Visit public places Madison has to offer, like the Chazen Art Museam or one of the public libraries. Say yes to everything, take it all in and maximize the memories you get to have in the best college town in America. Take advantage of the events and opportunities offered. This is the last time we’ll have professors and other people on campus doing everything in their power to send us off the right way, so attend one of the events they email about weekly.
The bottom line is: now isn’t the time to be sad. You’ve got time left, so use it. Don’t let yourself look back a year from now left with nothing but negative emotions from your final few months.
For every pang of sadness you experience, counteract it with three things.
First, a memory from your time here that you love. Second, an action item — something you want to do or somewhere you want to go to create a new experience. Third, think about something in the future you can’t wait for. Maybe it’s signing the lease to your first apartment, traveling to the country you’ve always wanted to see or reuniting with your best friends from college back in Madison a year later.
Life is coming either way. You can’t control the passage of time, but you can control your perspective on it. Don’t ruin the next six weeks with sadness about what you’re going to miss — spend your time in these places. Experience what they have to offer. Live in the moment and absorb everything around you.
Ella Dunnigan is a senior studying political science and community and nonprofit leadership. Do you agree that focusing on the present is what's best for current seniors? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
