Guys, big news—this is my last first article.
That sentence alone already unnecessarily limits me. I’ve limited myself by narrowing my future to one where I won’t write any further. I’ve accepted the dire yet inevitable truth of growing up rather than embracing and enjoying that in this present moment, I still have a full freakin’ year left. I’ve even unknowingly undermined the next article I write because it won’t be “as special.”
Is my writing really going to stop here at The Heights? I certainly hope not. There’s still so much more I want to write, say, and do, and I am sure my writing journey is not ending. The Heights was the first newspaper that gave me the opportunity to express my ideas and opinions on their platform, and for that I am grateful. But with all that being said, I’m a 21-year-old senior—not a senior citizen.
I find myself starting my final school year and its two remaining semesters. I intend to fully embrace the thirty weeks or 210 days I have left. I am going to take each chance I have to enjoy the writing I do here, treating each new piece as another brick in my wall of accomplishments and appreciate the friends I’ve made along the way. One year may seem like a limited timeframe, but given how long 40 days feel when you’ve given up cookies for Lent, 210 days is a long time.
On that note, since it’s long, why can’t I enjoy it? Fine, 75 percent of my time here is up. But, that leaves me 25 percent left. I have a few half-marathons under my belt, and do you know how much more difficult the last three miles are compared to the first ten? It’s a totally different ballgame. My mindset changes and you can say I’m more fatigued, or “washed-up,” at mile ten than I am at mile three, but that still doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the ride.
Additionally, with this last-first mindset, every subsequent event feels negatively sloping. Instead, we should see these final stretches as an upward ride, ending on high notes rather than low ones. For instance, I still have, like, ten more of these articles. Let’s not put so much pressure on me.
As a senior, I want to start the anti “last-first” campaign.
Why choose to restrict ourselves? If you were going on a first date you wouldn’t tell your counterpart all of your red flags. That would be a weird way to woo a person, and probably even more alarming if you actually wooed them from it since it’s just not the vibe of a first date and would throw off the dynamics before they start. We need to discover things for ourselves—think for ourselves. Yes, it’s my last-first article, or my last-first day of class, or my last-first time I’ll be going out on a Thursday night, but do you see how ridiculous this gets? Where’s the time to appreciate these moments if I’m ruining them before they get going?
Can we focus on the positives? We’re lucky to all be back for one more year. We’re lucky to be back on campus not paying rent for a shoebox of a room. We’re lucky we have another year to think about what’s next and prepare for the future. We are oh-so lucky!
I feel grateful to be back. Sure, I’ve had to put in a lot of effort, but BC’s been great to me. I wouldn’t change a club, a friend, or even a falling out I’ve had here. Everything’s taught me something, and because of it, I’m choosing to enjoy my senior year rather than dread its unavoidable conclusion.
Think about it as your first-last. It brings so much more hope and leaves so much room for growth and opportunities in our final year. Saying this is my first-last article for The Heights just has a better ring to it.
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