I can’t believe it’s finally 2011, the year when life really starts to get real for me.
 This year, I face graduation, getting a big kid job before I have to start paying back my loans and most importantly, facing the reality of a life that no longer includes school.
The more I think about it, the more heinous I find it that I soon won’t be able to refer to myself as a college student.

 
What do you become after you’re no longer a student? I have no idea.
Think of how much of your life you spend in school, pre-school, elementary school, middle school, high school and then college for most. 
That’s at least 17-19 years of your life spent having the world’s knowledge crammed into your brain.
And what does it really matter at the end of the day?
Since the start of my final semester, I’ve tried to process everything I’ve learned so far and have come to the conclusion that the majority of everything I’ve learned in the classroom plays a small factor in the real world.
Don’t get me wrong; reading, writing and math are all skills essential to life.
But what I’ve really learned through it all are things that my professors and teachers could never teach me.
I’ve learned that no matter how much you try, you will change over time.
Your thoughts, ideals, views on the world and everything you thought you knew will change.
I’ve learned that parents really do know best and they know me the best.
I’m finally starting to listen to them.
I’ve learned that everyone really is capable of doing anything they want with their lives.
It’s just now in my final semester of college, I’ve realize how much I really have learned about life, its mysteries and the people in it. 
The list of life lessons I’ve learned so far could literally go on for days.
Granted, I’m still young and learning new things every day, in and out of the classroom. 
Overall, what in addition to learning how to properly spell, how to memorize multiplication tables, the importance of European history and everything else imaginable, I’ve learned it’s crucial to take in what life shows you just as much as what your professors and instructors teach.
Don’t stress too much about striving for the perfect GPA or getting the highest test score in the class.
Instead, strive to do the best you can both in and out of the classroom.
After all, life goes on far after achieving a summa cum laude status.
Long after your formal education comes to an end, the lessons that life teaches you will go on for eternity.

JANAE BUTLER
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