Before I even got to K-State, I thought I had a fairly good plan of how my time would go. I’d move up here, keep the same major (ha), and graduate in 4 years. Maybe along the way join a few clubs, do some traveling, make friends, and do the things college students can get away with like ordering Pizza Shuttle at 3 am. Like most people and most situations, things did not go exactly as I had thought!

So far, I have moved 4 times, changed my major twice, then ended up adding one and a half majors and a minor to boot. Like most overachievers, I’ve joined what most would consider “too many clubs” at times but ended up learning more about personal time management than I would have any other way. I’ve been blessed enough to have gotten to travel to 5 countries on different trips and have lived in 3 different states for my various summer internships. I have made lifelong friends, and I have lost people who I thought would be my “ride or dies”.

Though this a just a small example (and very specific to me, unfortunately) I think it is a valuable reminder that no matter what plans you make for yourself and life, there is no promise that they will go exactly as planned. The same goes with deadlines. For example, I will not be graduating in the 4 years I said I would. After enough heavy course laden semesters, I decided that it’d be okay to be a super senior. After all, anyone that graduated K-State will tell you their time here was some of the best years of their life!

I have three semesters left before I start a “big kid” job. I’ve watched my classmates graduate and start the next chapter of their lives, and am excited to take the next step and make more plans I anticipate will change every day. For now though, I am overjoyed to be at K-State for the limited time I have left as a college student. I still haven’t ordered Pizza Shuttle at 3 am yet, but think I will hold off on making any plans for now, since it is pretty clear how well my plans work!

In Sisterhood,

Mardi Traskowsky