With senoritis comes senior regrets

With only two and a half months left in the semester and a week of classes before spring break, graduating seniors all over campus are beginning to get a little antsy.

Completing a bachelor's degree in college is much more significant than graduating from high school, and because of that, the cases of senioritis that go along with any degrees are equally magnified.

Whether it's worrying about studying for the test that's going to get them into graduate school or planning their post-university futures, many seniors are looking back on what they have done at UB in the past three or four years, with fond memories and a few regrets.

"I have pretty standard regrets," Erin Brennan, a senior political science major, said. "I wish I had gone to classes more, studied harder."

These regrets are typical for a lot of students, regardless of their field of studies.

Donna Graham, a senior theater major, admitted that if she could go back and do it again she would have focused more on academic tasks and spent more time in the libraries. Graham added that she also wished she had taken advantage of some of the perks of going to a university like UB where there are many free facilities. If she could do it again she would probably have gone to the gym more often.

However, there are other things that are striking seniors as extremely important aspects of their college experiences. There's no doubt that graduating seniors recognize the value of just having a good time.

Like Graham, most graduating seniors are cherishing the time they spent at college with friends; and books are taking a backseat to making the most of the time they have left.

Many are realizing that the things they learned did not only come from the classroom and required texts. Their knowledge has also grown from the things they have experienced and the people they experienced those things with. These are the things they say have shaped the people they have become.

"The times I spent with my friends being irresponsible, and enjoying the freedom that comes with moving away from home and getting to keep beer in your refrigerator and ash trays on your table is what has made the last four years of my life productive," Graham said. "It's where I grew the most."

Brennan said that she benefited from every element of her college experience, whether it was studying or partying.

"I learned a lot in college which I appreciate but I know there was more I could have learned. Overall, I value everything I did and didn't do," Brennan said. "I would fear that changing anything in my past would make me different from who I am now."

Thomas Pfiefer, a senior media studies major, said that not all college memories can be positive; that it's about separating the bad from the good and cherishing what was the most significant to you at the time.

"When you stop and try to look back at your college career a whole lot of it is a blur of cramming for tests and trying to piece together those nights where your memory seems to be a bit spotty," Pfiefer said.

Although the good times with your buddies are going to impact you for the future and help mold the person you become, Colleen Ethier, a senior management major pointed out that it is not all fun and games.

"I would definitely get better grades when I was younger," Ethier said without hesitation. "You really need the grades to get into grad school or get a job."

In the end graduating from college is about finding a happy medium between excelling in academics and having fun with friends. Something graduates understand well.

"On the whole the good times and low times average out and the lows were never as bad as they seemed," Pfiefer said. "The good times are the things that you will carry with you for the rest of your life."