My first night at UCA was spent staring at the ceiling of my Short-Denney dorm room. 

Though I felt excited about college life, more than anything else, I felt as though time was already moving far too fast. 

For the past four years, that feeling has never changed. 

I enrolled as a journalism major, determined to become the charismatic version of Madison I yearned to be. 

I joined The Echo my first semester and immediately thought I had made the biggest mistake in choosing my prospective career. 

Everyone on staff was impossibly put-together and motivated. 

They talked about having multiple interviews in a week, hunting sources down and cold-calling people as if it were another day at the office. 

Each week, when David Keith would push the new people to write their first article, I would start concocting clever escape plans to avoid any event he threw at us.

Eventually, I started catching up with the general pace of the staff. 

I wrote my first article, then my second, and I felt like a bona fide reporter before I knew it. 

I took on a couple of paid-staff positions and hung out with Mia Waddell a lot, almost purely because I admired how much of a go-getter she was. 

She joined paid staff first, took news stories first and later became the Editor-in-Chief. 

She was also the only other freshman who showed up to the interest meeting in the fall of 2020. Realistically, I think we were legally obligated to become friends.

Still, as all these things were happening, I never stopped feeling like time was moving too fast. I ended every day wondering why 12 hours always felt like 30 minutes. 

Now, as I reflect on each decision that led to today, time is still moving too fast.

 I don’t want to preach to anyone about how they should stop and smell the roses or take time to have fun in college because, quite frankly, everyone says that.

Instead, I’m going to say you should cram as much life into your time in college as humanly possible. 

I don’t remember every conversation or event I’ve attended while at UCA. 

I don’t remember every photo taken or article written. 

But I do finally feel as though I’ve done enough to be content. 

Alongside the process of getting older comes the feeling of uncertainty, as if you aren’t doing college the “right way.”

While I overthink almost everything about my life, I have thought about this concept the most. I’ve cried over it, I’ve had conversations about it, I’ve Googled for hours, reading forum posts from people who feel the same way. 

Almost everyone feels this way at some point, if you can believe it. 

Most commonly, people feel this way during the final days leading up to graduation. I’ve spent so much of my energy being angry that time keeps passing me by. 

Multiple times a week, I’ve audibly lamented about wishing there were more hours in the day. 

Truthfully, time wouldn’t have felt this unforgiving had I done nothing worthwhile at UCA. 

Had I never been a journalism major or joined The Echo, each day would’ve been nearly identical to the day before. 

I wouldn’t have built friendships with the eclectic characters of UCA, I wouldn’t have won awards for my work and most importantly, I wouldn’t have felt fulfilled. 

Comfort is always nice, but it’s the challenging situations and new experiences that make for the best stories. 

The time will pass regardless, and you will only get out of it what you put in.