Opinion
 

Don't stop until school starts

Zach Lee
Opinion Columnist

If I hear one more person tell me how much they're doing to get ready for school, I'll just puke. OK, I'm not really that much of a valley girl, but seriously, we have three weeks left. There's no point in stressing out when there isn't anything we can do about it for almost a month. Don't complain about how hard your classes are going to be, and don't complain about how little you actually did this summer because it's not over yet.

If you promised yourself you'd drive through the West Texas desert or the beaches of California, you can still do it. I know that jobs, family obligations and the usual summer lethargy can combine to transform the summer you dreamed of to get through those boring psychology classes into one free night a week for nine weeks, but you're in college. Act like it.

We have 21 days until we have to wake up early to get a good parking spot. We have 21 days until we have to choose between going to class and sleeping off a hangover. We have 21 days to enjoy freedom from the responsibility of building a better future.

That's enough time to give your two-week notice at work and still go on that road trip you've been thinking about. Don't use summer school as an excuse either. The official end date is Monday. If you want to wait that long, you still have seven days. You can cover a lot of ground in seven days. You can talk to that girl you always see at the mall. You can spend some time alone writing. You can hit up some good parties. The world is <I>your<P> stage.

I'm not going to fix my sleep schedule until Aug. 24. In fact, I'm writing this column at 3:13 a.m. I have to be at work at 7 a.m., but my body's young and strong. I can take it, and I'd much rather be listening to underground hip-hop and writing down my opinion than fixing my class schedule so I have a one-hour lunch break on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I haven't vacuumed in a while, and my room is so messy that I couldn't find a textbook in under an hour if you paid me. Of course, I don't need to find a textbook yet, and I really don't even need to think about it. Right now, I'm just doing what I love to do -- I'm spending my time listening to music, watching movies, going to shows, laughing with friends and enjoying the here and now. In 21 days I'll worry about keeping up my GPA. Until then, I'm just looking for a good time, and I'd suggest you do the same.

This just isn't the time to worry. Realize the freedom you have right now, and enjoy it. Enjoy summer before school. Enjoy school before life. Enjoy life before death. Of course, that's probably too much of a glimpse into the big picture anyway. Right now, we all have three weeks left before school starts. Do whatever it is that makes you happy, and if any of you need company on a road trip, hit me up.

Lee, a sophomore English major, 
can be reached at aliquidsoldier@hotmail.com.