To be a freshman again … What I would give to be a freshman again … OK, so not really. As I saw the hoards of freshmen moving in last Thursday, I did not want to be in that exact place again.

If I were a freshman, I wouldn’t be so familiar with this campus. I wouldn’t have the great friends I have now or feel like I never left for the summer since basically everything picked up right where it left off in May. I’m way better off with two of my best friends as my roommates than the experiences I went through freshman year.

So maybe I don’t want to be a freshman again, but there is something to be said about the promise of four years of college still lying ahead for all of you freshmen. College is four years of fun, good friends, many memories, some tough times, but ultimately an experience I don’t want to let go of.

Maybe I’ll have a different outlook in May as I cross the stage to graduate, but right now, unlike many seniors who just want outta here, I don’t want to leave. I know I’ll be prepared for a job, and I enjoyed my newspaper internship this summer, so my future as a journalist looks fairly good. My life might even be less chaotic once I leave this university because instead of working full-time at the newspaper, going to classes, doing homework, being active in other organizations and still finding time for friends, I won’t have as much going on.

That idea is somewhat sad though, too. Maybe I like to be busy. I know I can find things to fill up my time after I graduate. For example, I can still be involved at whatever church I go to, and I intend to do that. But it won’t be the same as Eastern.

Maybe I know when I graduate, my friends won’t be five minutes away or sharing the room with me. I know I’ve made friendships that will not just end after a few years because we’re no longer at the same school, but life will be different.

Being a senior has its advantages but so does being a freshman. Some of my colleagues this summer told me to stay in college for as long as I could. Well, I’m not going to be on the five-year, seven-year or life-long plan, and I hope most of you get what you really came here for – an education – in four years, too, but I also encourage you to enjoy college completely.

Don’t go home every weekend. Find your place or places on campus – your home now, and yes, you will come to call it that although the town you’re from and the house you left will probably always be home, too.

School work always gets done. Don’t party or stay out too often, but don’t always hide in your room with your nose in a book. Yes, you have to do your homework and write your papers for them to get done, but make sure to experience more of college than studying.

But try to sleep some, too.

Freshmen, jump into the college experience, and make the most of it, and seniors, don’t be too excited about leaving.