This column usually discusses some issue dealing with politics, religion or current events in the national media. But sometimes it’s important for any columnist, especially one at a college newspaper, to take a step back and write about something personal and relatable.

For those of you Wildcats who are also in your senior year of college and will be graduating in December or May, congratulations. You have completed a journey that started when you entered kindergarten and has hopefully culminated in the successful acquisition of a bachelor’s degree.

College is a pinnacle point in any person’s life. It is after all sort of a transition period. You are no longer a child and have many of the freedoms enjoyed by adults, but are often not yet completely independent from your parents’ support. For many students college is their first time living apart from their parents, either alone or with other students.

The typical bachelor’s degree takes about four years to complete, and a lot of maturing occurs during those four years. I look back at the person I was when I first arrived at UK, and can honestly say that I’m now a very different man. I’ve improved in some ways, and no doubt deteriorated in others — but that’s life. You live, you learn and you evolve.

Lately I’ve been reflecting on my entire school experience. From holding my mother’s hand as I walked into the private Christian school where I started kindergarten, to a few weeks ago when I walked into my last first day of class in White Hall and everything in between. These experiences have molded me into the man I am today, just like everyone at UK has been molded by their experiences.

In college alone I have travelled to places like Denver, Colo. and New Orleans, La. and visited the infamous Panama City Beach, Fla. during Spring Break. I have taken part in the world’s biggest water balloon fight, dodged errant beer bottles during the State Street block parties and became one of several founding fathers of a brand new fraternity on campus.

I have met a whole range of friends from all walks of life. Some I will remain friends with forever, some I will likely bid farewell to at the end of the year, and one was taken before he ever got the chance to do all the great things he was meant to do.

So if you’re a senior and this is likely your last year of school, cherish the time you have left. This is where you decide what you want to be in this life, and this is where you get to make memories with the people you love most.

Cheyene Miller is the managing editor for the Kentucky Kernel.

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