get out, take risks, enjoy life's pleasures!

The end of the year is finally here. Some of us are looking forward to taking our final exams, while others are panicking. Some of us are looking forward to our future travels, while others have no idea where to go. Some of us are anxiously awaiting the start of new jobs, while others hope some company will call them after graduation with a job offer (good luck with that). These past four years at San Diego State have been quite an experience for me: The great people I met, the places I traveled, the midterms and final exams I spent days ahead of time studying for, only to realize I'd been ready for them the entire time. The girls who I thought were impossible to ask out, but found were mere mortals such as myself once I gathered the courage to talk to them. The many adventures we had together. These past four years really were some of the best years of my life. My future looks bright and promising. Everything I have done in the past four years has strengthened me and made me the person I am today. All those risks, all those sacrifices, all those hours spent being part of organizations, everything seems to have paid off. Even so, sometimes I feel I never reached my greatest potential. As much as I did in these past four years, I'm sure I could have done more. Sometimes it bothers me that there is a vast amount of people here at SDSU who do almost nothing but study, go to class or go to the gym. There's more to college than that, people. Take a risk - go out and look for adventure. You never know where it might lead you. What I can guarantee is this: Your life will be more exciting afterward. From there, you can never go back to being the same person you once were. You will be a better person for taking risks, and once you get hooked, you can take it a step further and head out on a bigger adventure than before. No one really wants to look back at their college years and think, "It was so dull because all I ever did was get up, go to class, study, 'virtually' hang out at www.myspace.com and, in effect, sleep through four years of college." For some who have so far had dull college experiences, it may seem like it's too late to have fun. Well, guess what? It really isn't. It is not too late to pull one last prank, ask the girl or guy you've liked all semester out on a date, go on a road trip or do something extraordinary. And for those of us that actually took advantage of our college lives, there's nowhere to go but up in the world. We may have surpassed our expectations of what we are able to do, but now as we head out into the real world, we have to prepare ourselves once again. Don't think it ends there; we'll have to exceed our personal expectations again and again until we reach our full potential. Nothing can stop us. If there happens to be an obstacle on the way, it should be no problem for us to overcome it. If we survived four years of rising tuition, classes that were a hassle, working part-time or even full-time, maintaining social lives and great grades, triumphs and tribulations, joys and sorrows, we can survive anything. Congratulations. Yeah! get out... take risks... enjoy life's pleasures :D