Shelbie Harris

Editor-in-Chief

As summer vacation nears the end, I can’t help but anticipate what will be my final two semesters as an undergraduate at Idaho State University.

For many, this will also be their final year. For others, they embark on what will hopefully be the most memorable four (or six depending on how many classes you sleep through) years of your young adult life.

I’ve concluded that college is like renting bowling shoes, at least in some capacity. For instance, let’s say you wear a size 10.5 shoe. You go to the counter and ask for a pair in that size, it reads 10.5 but they’re oddly too big.

This is correlative to finding or choosing a field of study that interests you. Maybe you already have an idea or a plan to become a dentist, an engineer, or a grade school teacher. You sign up for a few of the core classes and find that, although it looks right, the class is just like the overly large shoe; that is, this class just isn’t the right fit.

So, you head back to the counter and ask for a size 10. He reaches under the counter and pulls out a raggedy old pair with the laces frayed and short on one side. You slip on the shoe and it’s uncomfortably warm, but it seems to have a more consoling arch and fit to your foot.

Like the previous example, this could be a class you are required to take for your general education such as intro to art, statistics or perhaps it’s a political communication or anthropology class you thought sounded fun or interesting.

My point, is that sometimes things change and in many instances you end up finding the path, or the shoe that fits the best and it’s the one you least expected.

Another example I’ve found in life that reminds me of college is watching moths or other bugs swarm around a porch or cabin light in the middle of the dark (odd comparison but hear me out).

I spent a few hours sitting on the porch of a friend this summer talking about life, love and the pursuit of happiness and as we spoke I watched many of these bugs do one of two things.

First, they either circled around and around the light constantly searching for the best spot to post up and soak in the warmth, only to move again. Or secondly, the bug eventually found its perfect spot, settled in and lived its last breath as close to the light as possible until it perished clinging to the same spot waiting for the wind to wash it away.

Assume you are the moth and the end goal, graduation and a degree, is the light.

This odd spectacle reminded me of college because the bugs who never settled, never got too comfortable around the light ended up living longer compared to the bugs who became complacent preferring one spot over others.

My advice from this experience is to never get too comfortable. Go out and try new things. It doesn’t matter if it’s joining a club or honor society, taking up a billiards or bowling elective or attending one of the copious amounts of student activities hosted on campus. Be the bug who never settles, the one who is constantly searching for something better, rather than settling for whatever comes their way.

That doesn’t necessarily mean foregoing what you are truly passionate about, but rather exposing yourself to situations you wouldn’t do so normally.

It is my opinion college is about developing lifelong skills – both academically and socially – building a professional network, and making memories that will last you a lifetime.

As cliché as it sounds, college life is what you make of it. You get out, what you put in.