Lessons from an old man

"If I knew then, what I know now..."

How many times have you heard someone say that? The only problem is most of us never took the time to listen when someone told us what we needed to know.

Now that my college career has come to an end I feel almost obligated to reiterate some of the lessons that I've learned over my first five years of freedom.

Four year girlfriends/boyfriends are no good: It's a proven fact that people that date the same person the entirety of college end up the same ?N unhappy. Alright its not "proven" per say, but that's probably because no one ever did a study on it. Get out there and meet some new people, you can't know what is best for you if you've never tried dating anyone else. Ten years from now, a spouse and two kids later, do you really want to wonder if you would have been happier with the cute coed who you had "everything in common with," or who you would "definitely date if it weren't for ."

Save some money for a weekend trip with friends: Instead of boozing with your buddies all the time, save a few bucks, and if you must have beers ?N have them somewhere you've never been. Camp in Letchworth or Allegheny with friends, spend a night at Niagara Falls with your significant other. It's not the random weekend at the bar, library or dorms you'll remember, it's the adventures.

Maintain good contact with old friends: "We'll be friends forever." Sound like a familiar story with a friend you've lost contact with? If you don't keep in constant contact with friends by the time you graduate you will have lost track of more people that you can count. All you'll have is a distant memory and cell phone number that is has since been changed to a 16-year-old girl who seems appalled that you have "like, totally have the wrong number."

Address the stupid things you've done: So you did something dumb, rest assured a lot of people have. However, remember that you at least need to own up to them. So apologize, clarify, and if you meant the things you said or did with a few wobblie pops in your brisket, by all means say something about it.

Go to your professor's office hours: This is something that I recently found out about, only three and a half years too late. Not only does it show you care about your classes but it actually helps you learn. This is one of the most important things you can do to learn. Let me say that again, this is one of the most important things you can do to learn.

Get involved with a club or organization: Being part of a club or organization ties you into a social circle, being isolated sitting in your Ellicott dorm room or at your parents' house in Cheektowaga is completely avoidable. Whether it is Boxing, Schussmeisters, Rugby, the Polish SA or The Spectrum, being a part of something helps to make friends while at the same time forming bonds and bettering the community in one way or the other.

Don't cram forced fun into the last days at college: Roll out like you came in ?N going with the flow. Just relax, trying to ram every ounce of excitement will make you focus on what you're doing, and not who you're doing it with.

Pay your parking tickets: Not only do your unpaid tickets cause checkstops, and increase in cost as time goes by, but they're also completely avoidable. Give yourself five extra minutes in the morning, or if you live on campus try walking.

Don't forget to say thank you: Somewhere someone is wondering how you're doing away at college, maybe a teacher, relatives, coach or a pastor. Remember to tell them thank you before it's too late. Remind them early, and remind them often. None of us got here by ourselves. (Thanks UB community, moms, pops, grandma and 305).

Conclusion: Any English professor will tell you that a proper conclusion always makes a paper great. When the end of your four years comes, it's all over and you can never come back, so make it count. Stay up late, slow things down, live in the moment, and have no regrets because before you know it you'll be standing on the edge of tomorrow preparing to be overworked, underpaid, and all grown up.

Perhaps you have no idea what I'm talking about, but hopefully you'll understand someday. Whoever said, "You only live once, but if you live right, once is enough," probably had a lot of fun in college.