Is college all it’s cracked up to be? I mean, of course it is. There are sororities, fraternities, clubs, sports, organizations and everything else one has heard regarding what college life is supposed to consist of.

Every student has the opportunity to work, play a sport, go to the gym, get good grades in classes, go to parties and events, hang out with friends and have some time set aside for family.

It’s actually not that easy. And more than the activities I mentioned above are a recipe for disaster if one were to try both on the same day. When I began college at Sonoma State as a freshman in 2012, I told myself I would join three clubs, play volleyball like I did in high school, work part time, visit family on the weekends and go to the gym early in the morning. These lists above soon faded away, and I soon realized that the chances of me being involved in all what I had hoped were very slim. 

Being a college student determined to graduate in four years these days takes a lot more work than it would have a few years ago. Units are limited, and if one has a later registration appointment, they are bound to miss out on some vital classes causing them to wait for a semester to get down to business for his or her major. Adding a part-time job to being a full-time student might allow them to get to the gym here and there and attend some club meetings, but that’s about it. 

This is not to say that there are no students at SSU, or any other institution, who are not taking on all these responsibilities. I am sure there are. However, I would like to ask them how it is going. I joined two clubs on-campus, but with my part-time job and heavy unit load, I could hardly make it to any of the meetings this semester. 

I was also hoping to join an intramural sport with a friend, and it was soon clear that it also would have to wait. But wait till when? Before one knows it, they are in their third year with a heavier load than the previous semesters with thoughts and hopes of graduation and life after college flooding their minds. 

There is a popular saying about it never being too late. This has always been true. There have been people the age of my grandmother sitting next to me in class. 

It is never too late to accomplish something. People have told me not to stress because my whole life is ahead of me to do that. But that isn’t true anymore. One day it will be too late. For instance, if one doesn’t do what they want to do now, like go to sporting events, join a club or two, hang out with friends, etc. Once they graduate college and move on with life, they will no longer be able to do these things; it will be too late. There are no other opportunities in the real world to do what one is able to do in college. 

That being said, enjoy every last minute of it. Everyone should fill up his or her schedule with everything that they want to do, even if it means going to sleep extra late and waking up extra early. We only have one shot to make the most of being in college, and this is it.