This morning I stood manning the Relay for Life booth at the UGA orientation activities fair, scanning the sea of the school’s freshest new faces and wondering how on earth it has already been 3 years since that was me.

In the cliché blink of an eye I have somehow gone from wide eyed freshman to terrified senior.

And with the final year of my carefree youth approaching at a horrifying speed, I have decided to make myself some promises to get the most out of my senior year.

1. Start Saving More Money

Seems fairly straightforward, but it is something I have managed to do fairly little of (I mean, working for free really leaves a lot of money leftover for saving, right?), but in a year I am going have rent and a call phone bill and you know, other adult things, so I am promising to live beneath my means and put some away for a rainy day (overpriced Atlanta apartment).

2. Stop Making Decisions with Everyone Else in Mind

Selfish right? Well I have decided that I am going to stop taking everyone else’s opinion when deciding what to do with my own life. Not that I am not appreciative of insight, I just refuse to live a life that is a culmination of what other people want for me. The biggest thing I have learned in college? Life is way too short to live someone else’s life for any part of it.

3. Stop Eating like I am Still a Freshman

Yep. No more large pizzas just because it is a Tuesday night and they are $5. Taco Bell is not a place that should be making up a (significant) part of my diet anymore. This year I promise to learn to love the salad and embrace cooking at home.

4. Go with the Flow

I vow to stop being so obsessive over things that I cannot change/things I really do not even need to worry about. Deep Breaths.

5. Get Really Good at Something New

I am thinking running or brewing beer. Maybe both.

6. Make More Time for Friends

Internships and clubs and volunteering are great don’t get me wrong, but your people are what really count once we have to leave this place. I promise to take a few more nights off working and make some more memories with the people that matter most.

7. Plan a Bomb Post Grad Trip

I am going to need a buffer before hitting the swing of full-blown adulting.

8. Do Something More to Help Others

Remember not to get too caught up in the hustle and bustle to stop remembering that serving is what we are all called to do.

9. Do More for Myself

Selfish promise numero dos. But really, I promise to take a little time each day to do something for myself.

10. Get to Know a Professor Better

Something I have tried to do more lately, but getting on the good side of a professor is not a privilege to take lightly. I can use all the recommendations I can get.