Soon, I will graduate. I know you’re shocked, but it’s true. I didn’t think I would get to this point. Neither did my advisor. Or my mom. Anyway, here are some lessons I learned.

Talk: College life when you’re shy is difficult. Never be afraid to speak up in class, join clubs and just talk. Seriously, join a club. If you still feel lonely, just ask someone, “Do you want to be friends?” The difference between kindergarten and college is not as much as people think. Just a new kind of juice and a lot more debt.

Be forgiving: Forgive yourself for the dropped classes, skipped parties and the moments you weren’t your best self. You don’t need to be perfect to be proud of yourself. Appreciate what you can do. Hold yourself to a higher standard, sure, but if all you do is criticize, you’ll never appreciate when you do achieve greatness.

Appreciate your professors: Those doctorates are for more than just reading your discussion posts. Ask them questions, go to office hours, build relationships. Every day, we learn from some of the most knowledgeable people in the world. As one of the least knowledgeable people in the world, I feel like we should take advantage of this.

Lie: Be true to yourself, but lie on your resume. They don’t check for ChatGPT in the corporate world.

Don’t fear the future: You’ll never feel like you know what you’re doing. That doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.

I often feel like I fumbled my way to a degree. But, honestly, I can live with that. With this being my final column, to anyone who has read my ramblings: Thank you. I know every single person on campus reads my columns, and I know you will all miss me dearly. 

I will now end with a quote from The Hawk’s faculty advisor dr. shenid bhayroo: “St. Joe’s is losing one of its finest young minds, and our community will be reeling for years. Carter, thank you for changing my life.” At least, that’s what I think he would say.