This week is St. John’s annual Career Week. Between the internship fair, lectures, and events, there are numerous opportunities for students to prepare for the world that lies beyond the gates of St. John’s University.

For students, this week can be a key stepping-stone into their career of choice, the starting point on a path to the rest of their lives.

For many, this is a week of anticipation, pressure, and optimism. For others, it can be the manifestation of the fear of the unknown.
The idea of moving on to the next phase of life and into something new and different from the collegiate world is both exciting and scary at the same time.

Still, no mater what lies ahead, we can’t help but try to get there a little bit faster. Career Week and all of the various service and opportunities that St. John’s and the Career Center provide to students are amazing, and utilizing them to begin your career is important.

With these tools at your disposal, it’s easy to see why so many students daydream about their futures on both Wall Street and Main Street.

College is supposed to help you get started on your momentous rise to the top of the professional world, one that seems bound to happen at the speed of light.

But in a world where career momentum and mobility are so important, it’s just as important to take a moment and slow down.

Careers are important, there’s no doubt about that. However, when you prepare for your career, don’t forget to set aside time to live your life.
Enjoy college. Make the mistakes that you can’t make later in life. Wear t-shirts for as long as you can, and spend countless hours with your friends arguing about music. This is the one time in life where you can live like a child and an adult at the same time, so embrace it before it’s gone.

This doesn’t mean evading all of your responsibilities or doing nothing but going to parties, but working to find a balance between your academic and social lives.

These are the only four years in your life when waking up at noon, staying out as late as you want and skipping your morning shower to make it to class on time are completely acceptable behaviors.

In a way, college prepares us for the rest of our lives by giving us the finale to the first chapter.

It may be cliché, but at the end of college, you really do begin a new journey and a new phase of life.

The world is wide open, and the number of doors to be opened are only outnumbered by the amount of bills that need to be paid and the responsibilities that continue to pile on top of you.

Until that time comes, take the chance in front of you and be a little less responsible, if only for a little while.

Being prepared is important, but preparation isn’t everything.

Life may always be leading you to the next step, but don’t forget to appreciate the one you’ve already reached.

Before this chapter of your life comes to a close, spend a little bit more time just enjoying where you are.

You have four years to experience college and soak up all that you can.

If you don’t, you have a lifetime to look back on your years spent looking to the future.