Ariel

Ariel. Courier. Times. I prefer Ariel. It's amazing how much I have learned about the time and thought that has been put into fonts. It's just one of the many things I have thoroughly been educated on. I've even watched a whole documentary on the perfection and preciseness of Helvetica, and constant subjection to my advertising and marketing major roommates ramble on about the importance, and overall coolness, of typeface. It has been very interesting, this little thing called college. Now that I am approaching my last semester here at UNM, it's easy for me to forget how much I have actually learned about myself and the world that I am a part of, all thanks to my four years here in college.

When I was younger, I would always have these little life epiphanies. I still have them, but the older I get, the less shocking they are for me. Now, instead of being like, "this is life changing!" it's more like, "Wow, how did I never understand this?" The most important of these being, organization! I don't know how long took me to realize and admit that I am a very forgetful person. Organizing has saved my life. I can't go a day through school without writing lists for everything I do and when I need to do it. I've always been a list maker. I only have to think to look back at my lists. Sometimes it takes me a few days. This last year of college has made me realize that my life is much less stressful if I take the time to do a little tidy work. Applying to schools, remembering which forms to send to who, remembering which forms to send has been remembered by the scratch out on my list.

Another of these epiphanies, probably around my second semester here at UNM, was how lucky I was to have the opportunity of a college education. I will never forget my first taste of gratitude. My political science teacher was explaining a theory on why people choose to be Democrats and why some choose to be Republicans. Most Democrats were college educated, often times finishing multiple degrees. Not that I have any personal regard for either. But, it made a little more sense of the idea that the higher education that people receive at institutions where thoughts and ideas are exchanged in almost every interaction, is one only achieved through actual higher education (i.e., college). I can't imagine what my life would be like today if I had not attended college. I can't imagine my life without college either, so I plan on spending at least five more years furthering my degrees.

The latest epiphany I have had is that people live a lifetime, and I am in my youth. It's a little scary. College is like kindergarten for life. Shaping you into the person you will be for the rest of your life. Even though I believe that people are in perpetual motion and constant change, I know that values are instilled in such developmental phases of our lives. I still have a whole lifetime ahead of me. It blows my mind to think of a person who is, let's say, sixty. How much one person can go through in sixty years. I can't even wrap my mind around what I will be like, what I will have gone through, or the person I will be when I am sixty years old. It hurts my head. But, I am really glad that I realized this now, instead of when I am hitting a midlife crisis, thinking about wasted youth. It makes me feel like I need to value my time and life today and everyday. I know that I will always thank my education for this last epiphany, because I only realized it thinking back on how much my life has changed and how much I have been through in these last four years.

It's going to be weird to not walk onto our beautiful campus next semester. I will miss walking to school on a rainy day listening to my ipod, wondering what people are thinking about, what I'm missing out on, what being a careless undergrad feels like. I am truly grateful for my time here at UNM. Even though I am continuing my education in the fall, it won't be the same walking between city buildings and cement instead of through trees and a duck pond.