The season of tank tops and toe rings is making its entrance in 2005. Yet the month of April will soon subside and the thought of a new beginning lingers in the minds of graduating seniors.

There’s a silver pond near the end of the baccalaureate road, and when seniors reach this point, they tend to stop for a moment to reflect. For some it has been a long journey, and for others college life has been a breeze.

As the end approaches, reflection is inevitable, and I openly acknowledge five intersections along the baccalaureate road where I should have turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.

Perhaps by sharing the error of my ways, I can help future students benefit by learning from my mistakes instead of their own.

The first mistake occurred in the fall of 2001, my first semester at Sacramento State. I let my friend talk me into a night of drinking before my final math exam. I hadn’t been doing so well in second semester statistics, and the final exam was crucial to my success in the class. However, like so many young-minded college rookies, I let temptation get the best of me. I ended up failing the exam and ultimately the class, which in turn cut my unit load to part-time, thus requiring me to pay back the VA for financial benefits received that semester. Additionally, I had to sit through that boring class again.

The lesson here: Handle your work before you go out to play.

Mistake number two was more like a bad habit: not waking up early enough. I suppose you could tie this naughty custom back to the days of frequent drinking with friends. This was the era marked by overuse of the infamous snooze button, missing early morning classes even after setting the clock forward 20 minutes and racing to school on an empty gas tank, searching frantically for a remote parking space in the rain. Mistake two has been very costly over the years due to the countless parking tickets I’ve received for parking in staff spaces to avoid missing quizzes and exams.

The lesson here: Get enough rest.

Mistake three comes in two parts: working too much or too little. When I first started at Sac State, I was determined to optimize production. I worked full-time for an insurance company and was a full-time student living by myself. Out of a seven-day week, I had no days off to relax. Anxiety started to grip its evil hands around my neck until I could hardly breathe, and instead of optimizing production, I ended up optimizing my blood pressure. Overworking hurt me academically and professionally. On the flip side, after that ordeal, I decided to take out loans and focus my energy on school. However, big gaps in employment have done little to fancy-up my resume, and at this point I wish I would have at least been working part-time during the past two years.The lesson here: Balance work and school; it looks good.

Mistake four was big, so pay attention: Don’t get married until after you graduate college. I understand that this may not apply to all persons; but if you are young, single and living at home with Mom and Dad, please heed my advice before you screw up. Planning a wedding is no easy task, so if you didn’t know, you better ask somebody. I got engaged in the summer of 2002 and planned my dream wedding for August 2003. I was a business student with one year left in college; my fiance was in the navy and my plan was to get through college, get married in the summer and move to the east coast with Prince Charming.

Reality check: Planning a big wedding, focusing on school and stressing out over a long distance relationship doesn’t mix – so don’t try it! Once again I overextended myself and had to take summer school during the summer I was supposed to be sailing in Greece on my honeymoon.

The lesson here: Get yourself together before you get together.

Mistake four is responsible for mistake five: Don’t get confused and change your major right before you graduate. If your parents refer to you as a “career college student,” then this may apply to you. Following all the post-wedding panic about where I would go next in life, confusion and personal doubt began to sink in. I was close to nailing my finance degree on the wall when I began thinking how cool it would be to be a journalist. To make a long story short, it has been two years since I walked in the spring commencement ceremony as a business student. As much as I love writing news articles and columns for The State Hornet, I have bills to pay – and, well, I’m not getting any younger. To make matters worse, financial aid cut me off (right before fees increased) because I have way too many units completed. Now I’m broke and have to pay out of pocket for my tuition expenses.

The lesson here: You’re not getting any younger, so make up your damn mind!As with anything, college life is filled with trials and tribulations designed to make us into wise, well-rounded individuals. These are the five biggest hurdles I faced during my time here, so if it helps you to learn from me, please do. All of us came here for a reason. I don’t know about the rest of you, but at the end of the baccalaureate road, I’m expecting to see a rainbow with a pot of gold.

——————————————————–

Carrie Espiritu can be reached at [email protected]