So College: Cherish Every Day
I remember sulking over having to wake up to attend that 8am high school history class about 1670 something and then spending half of Algebra II drooling over paperback books.
I’m pretty sure “I wish this week would end!” came out of my mouth every Monday. Of course my complaining was always followed by my mom saying “Stop talking and go learn something new today.” and dad following her lead with, “Enjoy every day. You’ll miss this.”
Well, truth is, I don’t miss high school — good try mom and dad. But that’s not the point. The point is I think my parent’s attempt at getting me to treasure every day was more about life in general rather than that 10th grade math class.
During my freshman year of college I had this revelation about how fast time goes. At that point, I was two years from 20, five years from 25, 25 years from 50and therefore half of my life was basically almost gone. The “treasure every day” advice all of a sudden became very relevant to my life.
I encountered one of the greatest stories this past Monday night. An ex-Shepherd University football player, who will be graduating in May, piled on his pads and helmet and jogged on to the field for the team’s spring football game. I immediately asked how on earth he managed to sneak in to the locker room and then on to the field. His response was simple — “I’m me.”
Oh, that explains everything.
After stretching a bit on the sideline, he called out his ex-teammate that has since replaced his spot on the field and told him that he just wanted one more play. One snap and whistle later, the head coach noticed him and screamed for him to leave the field.
As this ex-football player jogged off smiling, he screamed back, “But I hustled coach!”
Can you really be mad at this kid for wanting to enjoy one last play? One last moment surrounded by his old teammates? One last adrenaline rush on that beautiful turf he’s become so familiar with?
I respect him. In fact, I love him for this. Not only was his nerve to follow through with this event unordinary and appealing, but his response back to his coach was priceless. He hustled! Isn’t that what every coach wants?
Besides this story, I have nothing worth sharing from this week. It was normal — full of homework, dancing on cars, apologizing to neighbors for parking in their yard — you know, typical college week.
And guess what? I treasured every day.
Week 2 “So College” advice — We’ve all spent hours reminiscing on “the good old days.” Sure, they were good — that’s partly because they really were good and partly because people only remember the good parts. Regardless, don’t dwell on the past. These are the good days — treasure them.
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