Four years goes by more quickly than you’d think. One day, you’re meeting your first roommate who you’ll live with in Irwin Hall for a year and the next you’re procrastinating on packing your much nicer Horn and Markham apartment – not because you don’t want to clean, but because you’re sure it is just way too soon to already be leaving. Did I think when I moved to Kansas four years ago that I’d be sad to leave this tiny bubble that is Baker University? Not really. But as I write this senior farewell column, I can’t help but think how lucky I am to have spent my undergraduate years in Baldwin City.

The other day, one of my friends posted a Facebook status that said ‘Baker: high school university.’ I’ll admit Baker’s little campus can at times be annoying, but this university has so much to offer for students who are willing to take advantage of the opportunities that are here. I’m satisfied with my college career, but there are so many lessons I didn’t learn until my senior year and a few regrets that I wish I didn’t have.

So, as cliché as it is, I’ve decided that rather than telling everyone what I’ll miss or how much Baker has changed me, I’m making a list of things that every college student should do. Some of them seem silly and some seem obvious, but they’re all important parts of learning as much as you can, being the best you can and growing into an adult.

Get to know people who aren’t in your group.<strong>Get to know people who aren’t in your group.</strong> Get to know people who aren’t in your group.

I don’t just mean saying hi to the person who sits three rows in front of you in Spanish class whose name you think you know. Have an actual conversation with someone. Pursue every person you meet as a friend. It seems so simple, but how will you ever grow if you’re surrounding yourself with people who are just like you?

Baker is a small campus, so most students know who almost everyone is, but that doesn’t mean you know what they’re like. Some of my best friends I didn’t really connect with until my senior year because I didn’t step out of my comfort zone, and instead of a semester or two of having a really great friend, I could’ve had four years.

Help your classmates and say thank you when they help you.<strong>Help your classmates and say thank you when they help you.</strong> Help your classmates and say thank you when they help you.

It’s simple enough – you see someone who needs help and you volunteer to lend them a hand. It can be anything from carrying grocery bags up three flights of stairs to their room, to giving those freshmen who overestimated their friend’s alcohol tolerance some advice on how to care of him. When you’re there to help someone, even if they’re not the type of person to reciprocate, someone else will, and when you need a favor, someone will be quick to help you. Baker is small — we need to have each others’ backs.

Also, don’t forget to say thank you when someone helps, because it’s rude not to and sometimes in college manners are lost. Don’t be that rude person.

Be happy for someone else’s success<strong>Be happy for someone else’s success</strong> Be happy for someone else’s success

Don’t just be happy for your friends who find success. Be happy for the people you don’t like, too. It’s so hard to not roll your eyes and say something smart when the person you like least at Baker does well in life. I know I’m guilty of it more often than I care to admit, but being bitter doesn’t change the fact that your ‘sworn enemy’ is living his dream and you’re the jerk hoping he fails. If that happens, be the bigger person, wish him a sincere ‘congratulations and good luck’ and use that person’s success as motivation for yours. If anything, it’s good Karma.

Get involved on campus<strong>Get involved on campus</strong> Get involved on campus

This one gets old because at Baker, that’s one of the selling points to attract students. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told high school seniors that “what makes Baker so great is that because it is such a small university it is so much easier to be involved in campus groups.” But I’m a hypocrite. Aside from newspaper and cheerleading, my campus involvement was very limited. As each semester ended I thought about how weird it would be for a junior or senior to join a club so late in the game and I decided against it. What fun is “high school university” if you’re not an active member of campus? Even if you’re a busy athlete or taking more than 18 hours, try at least one club on campus. If you don’t like it, you can always quit.

Baker might be small and it might at times feel as if you’re in high school, but the faculty and staff are doing what they feel is necessary to get students their diplomas. A school is what you make it, and it’s ultimately up to the students to turn Baker into what they want it to be.