As I pondered a topic for this speech, many suggestions came my way. My friend, Ben, told me to write about the ineffectiveness of penguins in the tropics. Somehow that didn't seem to fit. My brother, Ryan, said that I should write all about what a wonderful influence he's been in my life. Right. A prevalent suggestion was to speak of what I know and from my experiences. Tom Meinhover told me, "You've been where they are going, tell them what you learned." So I thought. For the past academic year, I have been a student at Concordia College in Moorhead. I will tell you honestly that it has been the most challenging, fun, and fastest year of my life. It has been filled with adventures and changes. Through it all, I have learned many things, academically, but more importantly, about life. While some of the things I learned pertain only to the life of a college student, many are life lessons that apply to each of us, no matter the direction we are taking.
I'd like to share some of these lessons with you today.
I learned:
That everyone else was just as scared of starting college and entering the unknown as I was.
That if you do a really good job of getting stuck, it takes eight people to get a Corsica out of a snow bank.
That if you forget to water your plants before you leave for Thanksgiving break, they will be dead when you get back, and no amount of miracle grow will revive them.
That your keys and student ID are never in the same place you set them down.
That some of the best conversations you'll ever have take place while brushing your teeth in the bathroom.
That good friends will laugh with you until your sides hurt and you can barely breathe, love you through, and usually for, your craziest moments and the insane behavior that so often comes with sleep deprivation, and can help you get through pretty much anything, from burying your goldfish to getting over a broken heart.
That hula-hoops, Veggie Tales movies, squirt guns, and bubbles are not just for little kids.
That when you procrastinate writing papers or doing huge projects, you will have to stay up until five in the morning finishing them, and you will be a very tired person when it is time to go to your 8:00 class.
That naps, MSN instant messenger, care packages, 24 hour Perkins restaurants, and free birthday meals at Paradiso are a college student's best friends.
That not even dining service can screw up cereal or pasta.
That the people you didn't know when you started the year will be your closest friends when you leave eight months later.
That not everyone will be your friend, and that's okay.
That sometimes you just need your mommy and daddy.
To count my many blessings and appreciate all of the opportunities I've been given because there is so much trauma and despair in the world.
That setting a goal is easy, but achieving it takes a lot of hard work.
That pretty much anyone can accomplish anything he or she sets his or her mind to, if that person is willing to put in the effort.
Regardless of where we will be next fall, change will be present in our lives. Good-byes will have to be said, and each of us will head out in a different direction on the road of life. While this is a scary thought, it will also be the beginning of something wonderful. We are the drivers of the vehicles that are our lives. It is up to each of us to follow our hearts and take the steps to realize our dreams, no matter how big and impossible they may seem. I guarantee that we will face challenges in the upcoming years. I guarantee that we will experience days when we feel so alone that all we will want to do is cry. But I also guarantee that the friends we meet in the upcoming years will be our closest and dearest, and the funnest and most meaningful times of our lives are still ahead of us. Ivy Baker Priest said it best when she said "The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning."