Remember the classic image of children running and screaming with joy and excitement as the final bell of the year tolls? There was this rush, this reckless abandon that seemed to emanate from the grounds as the stampede of youth was unleashed unto the world. Is it me, or does that now seem, at least to an extent, wrong? When the rope is cut at the beginning of each day of Disneyland, there’s an exciting countdown, which is followed immediately by exclamations from various workers not to run. It is surprising the first time, given the commercials showing said running, but there it is. But at the very least, that’s a forced, safety control, and you’re still at Disneyland. But, school?

When in college, you may be making friends from all manner of locations. At the larger, more well-known Cal Poly, you’ll find many students not even from the same state, yet even as far as smaller distances go, differing work schedules as more responsibilities are taken up, as well as logistics of travel between two towns on opposite sides of even a county, can mean suddenly being removed from an experience that kept you going. You’ve taken the dreaded Potions Final at last, but now it’s back to the cupboard under the stairs.

It’s true that in this digital age there are things like video chat and all the like, but as you’ve probably learned, there are situations where receiving more free time actually results in a great deal less of it. One’s responsibilities cannot be run from forever. But, perhaps, if you’re passionate about what you want to do, you can find ways of taking time for both yourself and the life that lies ahead at once—after all, you probably are working toward a future you will be happy with, right?

Over the course of a lifetime, you will receive more advice than you would ever know what to do with from more people you can count, or probably even remember. Some of it will be necessary, and some of it won’t, but it is almost certainly inevitable, no matter what its quality. But whether you see the moon or not, the tide will continue to move. If you’re already going to drown in whatever water someone has seen fit for your boiling, you may as well ask to choose the condiments yourself.



Intern Chris White-Sanborn probably tripped as he was running through Fantasyland. Send your collegiate news to [email protected].