Time is fleeting. It’s definitely tough to be a senior right now. As I stare the last 14 days of my four years at UM in the face, I have realized there is so much I have taken for granted. Most of my friends are in a class for this, offering up their stories of what it was like to be a ‘Cane for four years, but I missed the boat on that, much like other things here at UM, so this is my therapy.
Like most freshmen, I came in a little pretentious about the whole college thing, acting like I knew everything within weeks of getting here. The truth is, four years later I know so little about everything that I pass everyday. It seems like I have taken for granted the fact that I go to UM and that I live in Miami while never actually taking advantage of being in Miami and everything it offers.
So I’ll admit, I have never been to the Lowe despite admission being free. And I have never been to mega-popular places like Crobar on Miami Beach or Space in downtown. And I swear I have been meaning to take advantage of the pool more than I did or go to the beach more Sundays than I did.
The point is, you never realize what’s around you and how much you will miss it until you realize that it won’t be around you much longer-and in 14 days my time at UM will end, and I know for sure I will miss everything about being here.
When you live somewhere for so long and you see the same things all the time, you start to skip over all the small things that you might have once noticed and really appreciated. Now that school is slowing down for me and I have to move on to my new life, I have started to recognize again the things on campus that made up my four years here.
Like when it rained today, I remembered all the times I thought I was going to slip and bust my butt walking along the bricks in front of the Rat; I never did, luckily.
Or getting the memo about the last meeting for spectrUM this year, reminding me about the first meeting for the GLBC I went to four years ago, way before serving as president.
Or even just thinking about the first day I met all my friends. I remember the night I met my best friend, her smelling like greasy food after work, me harassing my roommate during the movie we watched; how funny it is we became so close in four years.
In fact, everything I see on campus these days reminds me of something special I used to see here, all the things that I take for granted. So to all the students not graduating, take a look around every once in a while and remember why you love it here-and to the seniors graduating with me, it’s never too late to do the same. It’s helped me to remember, before I leave, that I have really loved this place.
Christopher Vasquez can be contacted at c.vasquez@umiami.edu.