Well…

This sucks.

Four and a half years, approximately 80 opinion columns and three minor-on-the-premises tickets later, my time at Iowa State is done.

And how do I summarize four and a half years of my life in one newspaper column? And how do I do it without operating on a completely masturbatory and self-serving level?

I guess I could share some of my experiences, but in the grander scheme of things, my experiences here at ISU, while of extraordinary importance to me, are probably very similar to other students, and not all that extraordinary after all.

Each of our college experiences should be extraordinary to us, though.

Our college years are possibly the most pivotal of our lives, the end of the “preparation” period of our existence, now perched on the cusp of “real life,” as we’re told, as if the lives we lead now are somehow illegitimate.

Do we take advantage of the twilight era of our educational process, experiencing it to the fullest?Did I?

I’d like to think Idid. Not to sound like an infomercial pamphlet, but Iowa State does offer incredible opportunities to its community members, advantages we should all attempt to explore.

During my years here Iwas lucky enough to enjoy my experiences in many of the pockets of activities available here, opportunities that I believe broaden the scope of our minds and souls.

Greek Week. Hamlet. Veishea. Daily columnist. People’s. Equus. Judo. The Coliseum (anybody remember that place?). GSB reporter…

I’ve enjoyed my busy four years, which have been complete and very fulfilling.

So why don’t I want to leave?

As much as I am proud that I am graduating and as eager as I am to move on to the next chapter of my life, there’s a part of me that wants to do it all over again.

I go to the bar and run into somebody with whom I was a Greek Aide, and Iwish I could referee inner-tube water basketball again.

I flip through old Daily columns, and one more time Iwant to sit at a table with David Mosby and Aaron Lehmer and scream our heads off at each other about the state of America.

I drive by 219 Ash, and I wish someone would magically rebuild my fraternity house, even just for a day, so we could all go in and wrestle in the hallways and play hot lava at four in the morning.

Iwish Paul Wright would play “Escape (the Pina Colada song)” for a month.

I see an old copy of the program from ISU Theatre’s Equus, and one more time Iwant to pull my shirt off and jump on that horse and celebrate being alive, or one last time contemplate existence, “To be or not to be…”

One more rush trip to Okoboji, one more kegger, one more football game…

It’s only natural to feel these things, I suppose. You come to a time of change, you examine the path on which you have tread that has gotten you to where you are.

I guess I’d be a little less reluctant to leave if I knew what the hell I was doing.

When you’re ten years old, you figure you’d have the entire world figured out and you’d have all your s—t together.

I figured by the age of twenty-three, I’d be all grown up, a hulking running back for the New England Patriots, omnipotent and immortal.

Well, that age is come, and I still feel like that little boy, not sure of just about everything, but most especially about myself and my place in the universe, in the world, hell, in Ames.

How do they expect you to go out in the world and exist and make money and survive until you have everything figured out?

The realization that nobody, nobody, has all of life’s quandaries solved was stunning. At least, shouldn’t grown-ups know what the hell they’re doing? Where’s our manual?

Isee ISU freshmen now, and I’m a little envious. All the house parties they’ll go to, FAC’s and mug nights, going to Tip-Top at seven in the morning on football gamedays….

Graduating seniors and other old-type folks persistently feel the need to pass along words of wisdom to their younger peers.

What would Itell those I’m leaving behind? If I could go back in time, what would Itell myself?

Savor every moment. Experience this life, these opportunities to the fullest.

Work as hard as you can, play even harder. Study, party, make love, celebrate, enjoy, suffer, labor, love, hate and live as much as you can. Let your only regret be that you wish you could do more of what you already did.

In the end, our time here is short, and wasting time wishing we’d done something else only makes our time that much shorter.

Iguess we get anxious about starting a new chapter in our lives because we realize we’re another step closer to finishing the book. Make your book a good read.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts on a variety of social, political, moral and personal issues for the past two and half years, and allowing me to be a part of what has been a very special time.

I’ve loved being here.

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Tim Davis is a senior in theatre studies from Carlisle. He is the Opinion Page editor.