Message from a graduating senior

I’m graduating in less than a month. Such a notion — graduation — is depressing yet exhilarating at the same time.

Myself and about 8,000 students will soon walk the plank into the real world. This reality starts everyday at 8 a.m., as opposed to whenever we want.

The real world loves coffee breaks, bagels and khaki pants, as opposed to late-night Pizza X and sweatpants.

My message to younger students is simple. It gets passed on, generation after generation, but I will repeat it anyway: don’t take a single moment for granted.

In an ode to Adam Sandler’s Billy Madison: “Stay here. Stay here as long as you can. For the love of God, cherish it. You have to cherish it.”

Don’t spend too much time being upset that we didn’t win the national championship in basketball. Get over it. It didn’t happen. Yeah, it’s rough, but at least you get to cheer them on — at the best home court in the country — next year.

So take solace in that.

Take solace in the notion that you will literally never have this lifestyle again.

Take solace in the notion that you live just a couple blocks from your best friends, as well as an entire population that is just like you.

Take solace in the notion that you can learn about whatever you want, short of underwater basket weaving.

Take solace in the notion that we have one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, as well as beautiful weather for eight months of the year.

I only hope that you don’t overlook the opportunities that college — and IU — has to offer. Failure to recognize these occasions is the worst thing you can do in college.

If you want to join a fraternity or sorority, do it. If you want to work with student organizations, do it. And if you want to be lazy, that’s fine.

My last piece of advice is that it’s OK to be unsure of what you want to do. Don’t feel pressured to know your major by freshman or sophomore year. It’s better to explore different areas and find your niche than to choose one and become unhappy with it.

Just enjoy this little utopia while you can. I know I did. Because, as I am coming to realize, college is like having your dessert before your main course. Only your main course is working for 40 plus years.

­— awcohn@indiana.edu