It wasn’t until my senior year that I discovered my favorite place to eat in Hoboken. If you’ve ever been to 4th and Willow, there is a small Cuban restaurant called Chango that has the best empanadas and iced coffee in the known universe (not sponsored). Since going there for the first time last fall, I have been a pretty regular visitor at least once a week.
The truth is, Chango has been there the whole time, but it wasn’t until the end of my college journey that I found the time to appreciate it.
As graduation has been rapidly approaching, I’ve been finding the other small things I will miss about college that I had previously overlooked. The baby geese on Palmer Lawn. Grabbing a Stute paper every Friday. Using the physics department telescope on Babbio patio. My favorite table in the library. All things I never slowed down to appreciate until they’re almost gone.
For better or worse, many students find college to be a mad dash to the finish. Every semester is a barrage of projects, homework, and exams, only to add clubs, job applications, and work on top of that. It leaves most people graduating with the feeling that it all went by too fast. This was my experience, at least. It seems like yesterday I lived in Humphreys Hall and needed Google Maps to find the nearest CVS. Now, I’m about to walk across the stage at graduation and step into the “real world.”
Reflecting on my time, I wish I had slowed down to appreciate the small, wonderful things about being in college. There are very few times in life where you get the opportunity to live surrounded by friends, opportunities, and so many people to learn from. The thought of missing a chance or falling behind can be so overwhelming that taking time for a break seems impossible. However, it is essential to cherish the small sources of goodness in this hectic environment, and it’s never too late to start. This past semester, I’ve tried to pause and appreciate the amazing things I previously overlooked—whether that’s great restaurants or gorgeous flowers. Running through college (or life) too quickly can cause you to miss out on the things you may regret later, even the small, seemingly unimportant ones. As a Stute Science Writer, no article I write would be complete without some data to back up my claim, so a study published by the National Institute of Health of seniors 79 to 98 years old found that most individuals regretted the things they hadn’t done in their life, not the things they had. Not living life to the fullest is associated with lower life satisfaction in the future.
As many of us move on to a new chapter in our lives, there will, of course, be more challenges and changes to come, and more times where we wish we could fast forward through the hard parts of life. That being said, there is also a great deal of beauty in what we encounter every day and in the moments that make life worth living. So hug trees. Pet dogs. Try new restaurants. Take risks. Make friends. And, as cliche as it sounds, stop and smell the roses.
Too long, didn’t read: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it” – Ferris Buler’s Day Off
