Opinion

Last week, I received an email from Steven King in the registrar’s office, officially stating that I, along with 235 other students, had been cleared for graduation. As exciting as this is, it’s also sad, because the incoming class of 2010 was almost double this number in 2006. Add in those who have just completed their fifth year, and this low number of graduates seems disheartening. Except in reality, it is not disheartening.

Last semester, I wrote an editorial about the number of students nation-wide who stay in college for a fifth year (about 50 percent or so). While everyone has their reasons, recently Student Trustee-elect Jameek Clovie and I were hypothesizing about why the MCLA class of 2010 has so many members staying on for a fifth year, and we came to the conclusion that our class simply became too involved.When you enter MCLA, the chance to become a leader is everywhere.

You don’t need to be a upperclassmen to start a club, to serve on an Executive Board, to land a leading role in a production and to instantly make a name for yourself. As exciting as this opportunity is, it is also dangerous. Many first-semester freshmen pile their plates too high and place academics on the back-burner, quickly falling into failure with their professors.In the final column I will ever write for The Beacon, I offer you this advice: manage your time wisely.

Set priorities that are for you, and when doing this, consider what will ultimately help you succeed. Whether that may be writing your paper or taking a nap, you know yourself best. Never let anyone else plan your life. After all, you are the one who has to live with the repercussions. Try new things, and don’t be afraid to space it out. You don’t need to do everything at once, and it’s OK to be the newcomer in an organization your senior year. (Point in case: I just joined SGA this semester. I never had the time to before.)

And sometimes, it is far better to take an entire Sunday off to spend time with your friends than doing homework, even if homework seems the more logical approach. You only get to make these memories once before you grow up. Never forget to take the time to appreciate what you have.