I’ve realized this semester that I’ve been taking college for granted since I got here two and a half years ago. Sure, I’ve been involved: I’ve joined organizations; I’ve made pretty good grades. I write these opinion articles for the Daily Campus and I give a recital in Meadows every semester. I do my best to pay attention in every class, even though they don’t all interest me. I was even an AARO leader, and I don’t think you can be more involved than that.

But I don’t invest as much as I should.

I don’t know when this occurred to me – probably just a couple weeks ago — but I realized that most of us really don’t know how lucky we are to be able to attend a university, let alone SMU.

I attend college on scholarship, so even though I have to take out a bit of money in loans each semester, maybe I’m just not paying enough money to realize how amazing what I have here truly is. Maybe I’m not sacrificing enough. Maybe I haven’t gone to enough lectures outside of class, so I don’t realize what a hubbub of excitement and education this school really is.

It took a lot of bad experiences with my health this semester for me to realize that what I have here is truly special. I have been in and out of the hospital, at various doctor’s appointments during classes and feeling so sick sometimes that I just haven’t gone to school for a couple days in a row. And missing out on classroom discussions and interactions with my professors made me realize: wow, I’m lucky to be here.

When I look around me, I see quite a mix of students: people who are here to party, people who are here to get a degree, people who are here to get a job, and people who are here to be educated. I desperately want to be a part of that last group. I know that if I do my very best while I am here at school to be educated and learned in my area of study, I will be able to get a job that I will love. I just need to put my heart into this more.

So, I just want to send out a little note of encouragement to everyone: don’t wait until your health threatens your ability to go to school to realize that you can do amazing things here. Realize it now. Take advantage. Go to concerts in Meadows for really discounted student ticket prices. Go to lectures sponsored by the Human Rights Program for free. Do an Alternative Spring Break in another state for the low price of $150 because you CAN and because you will learn from it. Don’t let the huge amount of opportunities pass you by, because college will be over before you know it.

Katrina Leshan is a junior majoring in classical guitar performance. She can be reached for comment at [email protected]