Act first, study later
March 25, 2026 9:59 AM
Despite the diversity of thought, race, sexual orientation, and pretty much everything else in our population, we stand united by a single word.
We check it off on government forms, use it to introduce ourselves, and more often than not employ it as a synonym for ‘misery.’
To a certain degree it speaks for our social standing, age, lifestyle, and general lack of money.
Self-describing using this word inevitably brings probing and curiosity from old friends, well wishers, and otherwise friendly acquaintances.
It generally defines who we are and what we are trying to achieve, leading others to make tremendous assumptions about us (whether positive or negative).
The word if you haven’t guessed it already, is student.
As the summer break (ready or not) fast approaches, what interests me is not the classic university student stereotypes and limitations, but actually more of the way in which people seem to sacrifice identity to be students above all else, and dynamic individuals sometime later.
The funny thing is that this seems to persist even during academic intermission.
So many people I know seem to have been whittled down by education, a seemingly counter- intuitive concept.
Before university we were photographers, animal lovers, dedicated family members, travellers, audiophiles, athletes, and leisure readers maybe even all at once.
During the academic year, at least some of these other enjoyable identities must bend to the demands of academia.
And that’s not even a bad thing; it allows us to learn and grow. What bothers me is that the habit of putting life on hold is so resistant to annihilation that it continues to plague us beyond the standard 8 months.
Shouldn’t such a long respite as summer be a time to let dormant passions awake?
By the time September rolls around again, we should feel the triumph of realizing that oft alienated joys came back with a vengeance.
But we’re so busy playing into student restrictions that instead of triumph we tend to simply mourn the summers that got away.
I’d love to learn to take beautiful pictures but I’m too busy working for tuition money.
I’d love to explore a new place but my obligations prevent me.
I’d love to reconnect with old friends but I should be doing something to achieve this one looming goal instead.
Why do we think like this?
As students we face very real restrictions, whether they be a lack of monetary resources, the drawbacks of constant migration, or falling victim to time constraints.
I would argue, though, that the biggest extinguisher of the identities we actually want is the foregone conclusion that all things must bow to studenthood.
Sure we’re broke, but if we weren’t so busy playing the victim, then we might actually recover some of that lust for life.
One friend I know is a particularly bad offender. She uses student status in one way or another to constantly deny herself chances for fun, even inexpensive ones.
Another friend writes a list of everything that she’s hell bent on doing before September, and she tends to do it all.
Who would you rather be?
I get that there’s a huge pull toward a tunnel vision mentality. We want to get it all over with, reduce debt, and attain some stability.
But if we were really wise, we would see that the university phase of one’s life is relatively unrestricted.
In fact for many of us, this is probably the time in our lives when we face the fewest restrictions and obligations.
We don’t tend to have families to support, mortgages to pay, or jobs that we can’t leave.
If we’re not going to feel the world’s possibility open up for us in our early twenties, then when the hell are we?
Every person whether student or not has to fight for the time, the money, the opportunity to do things that they love.
But this is not a fight that will magically go away after graduation. It may even be one that gets harder and harder as time goes on.
So if you’ve got an itch to do something, whatever it is, do it now (or at least plan it now). It may be your only chance.
In my last column of the year, what I wish for my fellows during the summer is fulfillment of obligations and progress toward goals. But much more than that I hope that each and every student I know engages in an unrestricted chase of a passion down a personally relevant rabbit hole.
May you unabashedly and unapologetically make room for something that feeds your soul. Because it may never be convenient, and you could miss your chance. And trust me, you deserve it.
On a personal note I’d like to add that it was a privilege and a joy to run the Opinions section this year. I hope that my successor has as many loyal contributors and articulate letter writers as I did in the past eight months. Keep talking, keep writing, and keep responding!
