College can be the best four to 14 years of your life. Beyond the tests and the papers, the study groups and the all-nighters, the two-hour lectures and the two-hour lecture hall naps, there are fond memories to last a lifetime.
A student's last semester before graduating is a time to look back on years that either passed too quickly or did not pass quickly enough.
Tyler Rudd, a senior international business major, said the years went by too fast but that certain memories are timeless. He fondly remembers the road trips to Tiger football games, particularly to the Ole Miss game.
"I remember beating them on their own turf, and everybody standing up near the end, shaking our keys," Rudd said.
Sometimes the right combination of boredom and crazy friends can create a lasting memory.
"Some friends and I were sitting around the house one night with nothing to do," said Rudd. "They paid me a dollar each to eat a dozen sour apples."
When that didn't squelch their boredom, Rudd's friends proceeded to shave his head and one of his eyebrows. They took pictures and showed them to everyone they knew.
"But that isn't even the craziest thing that has happened," said Rudd. "I don't think you can write down most of it."
Chris Simmons, a senior biology major, has some crazy karaoke memories.
"Me and some fraternity brothers went up to Windjammers one night - one guy was wearing aviator sunglasses and singing '80s tunes, totally wasted," he said.
College isn't all about fun and games, though.
"Meeting a lot of different people is what I like most about college," said Chelsae Myers, a senior management information systems major. "But I spent most of my time trying to get programs to work for my classes. Nobody understands if they aren't a programmer."
Teachers can also contribute to a memorable college experience. Myers said she had bad teachers in high school, but college was completely different.
"Teachers in college actually talk with you and treat you like a regular person," she said. "I had one teacher who I could listen to for hours. Listening to him was like watching TV."
Many say a university education is worth more than the classes you take and the books you read. It is worth more than the information you learned and forgot. Its worth is priceless, they say, and far exceeds its brief course through life.
"College went by way too fast," said Simmons. "I don't know where the time went, but they were good times. Now I'm going to med school, and I'll be crying later wishing it will go by faster."
