Looking back on the last few years seems like a blur.
It feels like just yesterday I was moving into University Hall, where I would room with someone who’s still one of my closest friends.
Even thinking back to my first day of high school, when I knew maybe four kids during the pandemic, doesn’t seem like it was that long ago.
Yet it’s been over six years.
If you asked me back then where I’d be on Sept. 25, 2026, chances are my guess wouldn’t come close to where I am now.
Six years seems so far away, but it’s really not. So much can change in what feels like a short time.
I think back to when I started my first job at a golf club at 15. I wasn’t allowed to even go behind the bar; now, I can run it on my own.
I remember meeting one of my closest friends the summer before my junior year of high school and thinking about how he was about to become a junior when I graduated. Now, we are back in that same spot again – just this time, in college.
On a similar note, I think back to when I rushed my fraternity in the fall of my freshman year. Many of the juniors then were guys I looked up to as mentors.
All of a sudden, I’m the one doing the mentoring.
Life is incredibly chaotic and can change in a single instant. Last fall, I remember celebrating on the phone with my dad after the Bears pulled off an incredible Week 9 win against the Bengals and talking about how the next game I would be home for was during Thanksgiving Break.
I couldn’t have even fathomed that I would tear my meniscus just two days later and spend the next weekend at home being unable to even put weight on my left leg, but that’s exactly what happened.
The best piece of advice I learned last year is that you can never predict exactly what’s going to happen in life and get it correct every time.
Sure, you may be able to predict some things here and there, but whatever plan you think you may have can be derailed in an instant. Especially when considering what may happen years down the line.
You can either choose to run from what life throws at you, or embrace the chaos that life brings.
I’ve chosen to embrace it.
