By Elijah Weaver
Was it just yesterday that I entered the Oklahoma Christian University campus as a freshman? And now, three years down the line, the cliché question stirs in my mind: “Where has all the time gone?”
It can be easy to become despondent at the reality that those few glorious years of college are nearly over. The “real world” is brooding just over the horizon, waiting for a new group of graduates to take into its grasp.
Yet, whether you are eagerly anticipating this next step in life or you are nervously awaiting the fateful day when you will cross the bridge to that new world, the truth of the matter is that we have one more year of college. And with only one year left, we should lay claim to every last moment of it, living to its absolute fullest.
As my senior year begins, I have made a list of four goals that will help guide me towards a final year of intentionality and purpose. They are simple goals, yet they are of utmost importance, and sometimes it is the simple things, things within our grasp of experience that can bring about the most meaning.
1) Make New Friends
Yes, you read that right. We still have time to meet someone new. As freshmen year drew to a close, I remember thinking I had met all my best friends that year, and I couldn’t imagine meeting another best friend in the years to come. I couldn’t have been more misled. I ended up meeting several more guys throughout the next two years that ended up standing next to me in my wedding, and we will now be friends for a lifetime. It’s easy to get comfortable with the people we know, not finding the need to meet anyone else. But who knows, you may still have yet to meet that friend who will stick with you for the next sixty years of your life.
2) Finish Your Studies Strong
Rather than slack off, why not give your all to your final year of undergraduate study? Senioritis is real, and as the next stage of life creeps ever nearer, it can be easy to give up your effort on your schoolwork. But the race is almost over, and it is time to finish strong. We will likely look back on these years and realize that the privilege we had to go to college was one that many people around the world would die for. Let’s finish our studies with gratitude and resilience.
3) Find a Mentor and Be a Mentor
You may never again be so closely surrounded by people who are willing and wanting to help. Receiving wise advice from someone who cares for you can make this year more fruitful and worthwhile. At the same time, I believe in the importance of being a mentor to someone younger than you. As each new class of freshmen stands where you once stood, many of them would love to have someone come into their lives and walk with them. Perhaps you could change a life.
4) Leave Something Behind
Not in the material sense, but as you dive into your final year at Oklahoma Christian, focus on something you can leave behind. You have one year left to make a difference. Maybe it will be your kind nature that people will look back on and remember, or perhaps your new and exciting ideas. Whatever it may be—and it will be different for all of us—make it count. Before we know it, we will be moving on, and perhaps the best thing we can do is leave a little bit of ourselves here to continue blessing the people that will walk this campus for years to come.
Elijah Weaver is a senior at Oklahoma Christian University.
The opinions of guest columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Talon or Oklahoma Christian University. Guest opinions are presented to foster public debate on important topics and comments should be respectful and signed.
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