Lately, I have been thinking about the end of high school, specifically the last semester, when we were freed from the burden of college applications and predictive grades. I keep having random flashbacks to four years ago: going to a karaoke bar with friends, late-night drives and endless yapping at sleepovers.

I’m struck with a sudden pang: Where’d all the time go?

I am well aware of the reason behind this reminiscing: I am at the same crossroad today, just slightly older. As I prepare to graduate, I am once again readying to leave the sheltered bubble that shaped me for what comes next.

Yet, while preparing for the goodbyes, I still can’t believe it’s been only a little over three years since I walked onto the USC campus for the first time as a timid spring admit bundled in a puffer, scarf and beanie — overprepared for low 50-degree temperatures. Time has flown by: Soon I won’t be tailgating at frats, studying at the Ministry of Coffee and ironically screaming “Fight On!” at the student ambassadors. 

We have all heard adults affectionately refer to college as the good old days, and I assumed I would feel this way eventually. But, surprisingly, the nostalgia has arrived early. I already find myself telling anyone who would listen about the time my entire world fit conveniently within a two-mile radius. 

While experiencing the most mundane moments, I find myself thinking about how much I will miss them. I wonder if each meal at Tutor Campus Center will be my last there or if I’ll ever stand in the long line outside Rock & Reilly’s on a Wednesday again. When I found myself oddly depressed about writing my last midterm my friend gave me a reality check: I was crying over things that I didn’t really enjoy. 

There are better food options than TCC — except for their salmon bowl, of course. I always complain about standing in the cold outside Rock & Reilly’s, and the only time a midterm has brought me joy is when I have submitted it and bolted out of the room. Instead of mourning these experiences, I should focus on the aspects of college I am truly going to miss and soak those up. 

My new obsession during this unusually warm winter has been spending my time sprawled on Hammock Hill — thinking long and hard about what my friend said and what I truly want out of the last few months of college. While many seniors create extravagant bucket lists, I could only come up with one goal: spend as much time with my friends as possible. 

No matter how long we’ve known our friends — whether we met at freshman orientation, through an on-campus job sophomore year or after complimenting someone’s outfit at the USC Village gym during junior year — it never feels like enough time. Many of our favorite college experiences weren’t enjoyable only because of the activity, but rather because of the people we experienced them with. 

The realization that soon I’ll have to drive across town, at the very least, just to watch TV with my friends, has changed how I am approaching the rest of my senior year. It doesn’t matter what I do, including studying for a midterm, as long as I have my friends by my side.  This has motivated me to make more plans with my friends, whether it’s a bar-hopping plan finalized a week in advance or a spontaneous trip to The Broad. 

While spending this precious time, remember to still be immersed in the moment. Often, these happy times are plagued by sadness about not being able to relive them in the future. 

But whenever an intrusive thought whispers that this might be the last time I do something with my friends, I don’t try to push it away. Instead, I take inspiration from a Pinterest quote I found and remind myself that I am extremely lucky to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. 

These last months will probably be bittersweet. But if we start reminiscing about the good old college days before they are even over, we risk missing them entirely. So call up your friends and make those plans and check off everything you wanted to do with them, even if you are not a senior yet. Trust me, as a certified unc, no amount of time is going to be enough.

Edhita Singhal is a senior writing about life lessons she has learned in college in her column, “Thinking Out Loud,” which runs every other Monday.