Goodbye and good luck: Viewer seniors move on from MVNU: Mariah Powell

“It is totally worth it, except for when it isn’t”

My academic career has felt like a dead run toward some unseen finish line.

Everyone says you should pack as much into your college experience as possible. You will never have these opportunities again, so, as my boss Joe Rinehart likes to say, take every chance you can to get “more for your tuition dollar.”

All of that is true, and I have definitely taken advantage of a lot of enriching opportunities at MVNU. Between balancing classes and two jobs, packing four years worth of college experiences into three has definitely kept my schedule tight.

But, it has been worth it — every single hour of late night work to meet a deadline or finish a video or write just one more page.

And I say this as a morning person who cannot drink caffeine, at all. I would not have the job opportunities I do if it weren’t for all of that hard work and dedication that went into my college experience.

However, let me speak for a moment to my fellow Type-As who are totally dedicated to their academics and work: it is totally worth it, except for when it isn’t.

In a week, I will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media production. In just over two weeks, I will move over 12 hours away for my first full-time job. For the first time ever, I will be on my own, away from everyone I know and care about.

That is exciting and terrifying. As someone who spends most of her time looking to the future, the view right now is exhilarating.

But even I can’t help looking back on my time here and questioning whether all the time I spent diligently working (or working not-so-diligently) was worth the time I did not spend with the people here.

As futile as it is, I can’t help wishing I could somehow spend more genuine time with the people I care about — people I may not see again for months, years or ever.

I cannot get that time back (if I could, I would probably spend a good portion of it sleeping, anyway), and I cannot take these people with me.

I don’t want to stay here. It is time for me to do things on my own for a while. I don’t regret the work I have done here.

There is some time, however, I wish I could take back from my work and give to the people that are so much more important.

So, as I try foolishly to cram three years of relationship building into my final goodbyes, here is my advice: “More for your tuition dollar” is not just about classes and clubs, jobs and internships. It includes people, too.