Stop. Live. College students (and everyone else) will benefit from this most.

What does it even really mean to have a university degree?

Nothing, really. It’s just a pointless piece of paper that says you had the discipline to go to the same place for four years, or perhaps more, taking lessons and tests on things that, once you graduate, you think you’re an expert on.

Well, you’re not.

No one is, really. Because, if you really think about it, we might get to grasp more about a certain topic, perhaps something you’re more passionate about than anything else, but every time you learn something new, you’re gonna have new questions, the answers to somehow not available. Because, as you advance, you will start to notice the gaps in your knowledge. And you may feel uninspired because you go to an institution that was supposed to teach you something new, but, as a scholar, or a lifelong learner, you already know those things outside the classroom. They will always have something new to offer, even if it is unrelated to the topic at hand. Maybe it’ll be a life lesson that will change your perspective on life forever.

Maybe a professor will inspire you to be more accepting of others. Or perhaps you’ll get the praise you need to keep pushing you forward. There are very rare cases in which the student is actually genuinely much higher on the ladder than everyone else. They don’t have ‘peers’ in their direct surroundings, because, mentally, or intellectually, they are indeed more advanced. And that’s all right.

The point of that meaningless piece of paper is to get your name recognised. No, not fame or any of that useless stuff. I mean you’ll simply have the credentials you’ll need to keep going further and further.

But remember to never stop learning outside the classroom, more than what they teach you. Because there are millions of books out there, just waiting for you to reach out and read them. Books are unique. They’re like magic. They’re a collection of words, straight out of someone’s mind, and the world’s database, or even a purely fictional composition that someone put together. Either way, never stop reading.

Reading is what will keep you inspired, will keep you breathing. So you go to university, and do your best. Put your heart and soul into it. But remember, it’s just an additional thing. It shouldn’t be your main focus, something that stresses you out. It should simply be a means to a goal. Because, I don’t know if you’ve ever felt that ball of stress in your chest, because you found yourself overthinking your performance, but the harder you tried, the more you seemed to slack, miss out on lectures, skip a week or two.

That’s all right. We all go through hard times. Sometimes, it just happens. But it’s okay, because everyday is a second chance. Just put your foot forward, instead of backward. And remove the focus from school, and put the lens on you. What you want. What you like. What you enjoy. What you need, deserve. Do what you need to do for you, not for anyone else. Not your parents. Not your mates. Do what you think is best. What you know you want.

I hope this helps you as much as it’s helped me. Take a moment, take a breather, stop and look around yourself. You’re alive. You exist in this strange universe of ours. You’ll be fine. You’re not at gun-point. Every problem has a solution. There are no real dead ends. As long as there’s something you can do, you’ll be okay. Something (paraphrased) Stephen Hawking said that I will never forget.

Give your cats love. Read your books. Play those video games. And don’t stress over the small, stupid things.

You’re okay. I’m okay.

We’re all lost. But that’s just the best part of life. Being lost. If you ever think you have it figured out, yeah, you don’t. You’re not gonna turn eighteen and suddenly everything will be perfect. Your 20’s will be very different from what you imagined, one way or another. And don’t give yourself a hard time. It doesn’t matter if you did not achieve whatever you wanted to by 25. You have time.

And in the end, none of this will matter, and we’ll all be nutrients for the trees, the soil plants are born of, the animals that feed on it, the babies they make, the humans they feed. It’s an endless cycle of life and death. What seems important now, won’t be later. Do whatever part you wish to do, and then just live.

In fact, start just living right this second. Deep breath.

You’re here. You’re alive. Acknowledge it.