Between classes, homework, extracurricular activities, jobs and that rarity we call “sleep,” we college students appreciate anything that makes our busy lives more convenient. For example, the new card access system for our campus’s residence halls offers us an opportunity to be a little lazier than before. The laborious process of getting out our student ID cards and swiping them through the card readers is a thing of the past — a toil that first-year students will never know. Long gone are the days of using Ethernet cables for Internet when we did not have Wi-Fi access across campus; only those from the Class of 2015 and above will remember those dark times.
Do these conveniences reduce my homework load? I wish. Does not having to use an Ethernet cable enable me to sleep better at night? No correlation. Does the card access system allow me to put my ID in the back pocket of my pants and unlock the door to my quad with a well-placed booty bump, only to be followed with immature chuckles at my accomplishment? You bet it does! But jokes aside, campus conveniences really do make a difference, although not by subtracting from one’s existing workload. Instead, the little things that save us some energy here and there are more of an emotional benefit.
Looking at the aforementioned conveniences, the little time-savers are not necessarily intended to save us time. The card access is more of a security measure and the campus-wide Wi-Fi has probably more of an educational value than a convenience-based one. Regardless of the reasons for their implementation, these additions give Elizabethtown College students fewer things to worry about. The upgrades are difficult to appreciate, however, unless you have experienced Etown without them. Another example is the web printing system — which an alarming number of students don’t even know about — that has saved me countless times for printing any number of assignments before class. Some things are hard to appreciate unless you have had to go without them.
I reflect on my Etown experience wishing that certain things had been implemented sooner, like earlier registration for honors students and the student directory on JayWeb. That’s just how things work, though. You’ll always look at the improvements to your school and wish they had happened years ago. Regardless, it’s worth being thankful for the cool additions that pop up during your time here. I’m going to enjoy this year of creatively and immaturely unlocking my quad door. I’ll bask in the beauty of Nicarry 2.0 for one glorious year. Do I wish the school had funded these things sooner? Of course. But I’m sure that the classes of students who could never connect to EC_Jaynet_Login from the comfort of their lofted beds wished the same thing about campus-wide Wi-Fi.
So if you ever catch me complaining about things that came a little too late for a senior like me, be sure to scold me. There’s no point in spending senior year like a bitter old man in his rocker. I intend to be grateful for everything — even the littlest things. This is the year of no regrets, as every year of college should be.
