At the end of every year, my fraternity has a ritual of doing “Senior Sendoffs.” These sendoffs are an opportunity for seniors to talk in front of the entire chapter about their Beta experience, TCU experience, or any life lessons that they think are worth sharing with the chapter. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has prevented these senior sendoffs from occurring. Instead of doing a Zoom meeting with 180 college guys, the president decided to do video sendoffs. Although the platform is not the same, it still allows the seniors to address the chapter.
Some seniors take this as an opportunity to reminisce on their best experiences. In contrast, others make it a little bit more seriously by providing advice or giving insight to the younger members of the chapter. I took the second approach as I feel like it is essential to invest in the younger members of the fraternity. Furthermore, I always took a lot away from the seniors that provided insight during their senior sendoff.
I enjoyed the exercise of thinking about the best advice I could provide to younger members of the fraternity. I believe I learned a lot about myself and realized that the college experience went by quickly, but I do think that I learned a lot over the years. Below is the transcript of my senior sendoff that I recorded in a video to be presented to my fraternity.
Hi guys, this is Ben Warren roll number 261. For those of you who may not know me as well, I served on exec for three terms. I was the secretary, president, and vice president of communications. Beta has meant a lot to me over the years. I have always looked forward to giving my senior sendoff in person, but a video sent to the chapter is a close second. Today, I want to share some of the best lessons I have learned and things I wish I knew when I was younger. None of these concepts are life-changing, but I think they played a massive role in my development over the years.
1. Live a purpose-driven life
Although it may be difficult, finding your purpose and what motivates you will bring so much happiness into your life. You may not be the best at whatever you are doing, but don’t let anyone outwork you. An anonymous quote that I live by is, “If you’re not thinking about it in the shower, you don’t want it bad enough.” Live a life with purpose and do something worth doing.
2. Find a mentor
I have learned so much from people that are older than me. By reaching out to people that are in my career field, I have learned what life is like in the various industries I may try to pursue. As soon as you find someone, ask them outstanding questions, and figure out what makes them tick. I found a mentor at my first internship. I still had a quote from one of my mentor meetings in 2018:
“Some things matter, others don’t Happiness is knowing the difference.”
Although the quote is somewhat simplistic, looking at life through this lens allows you to take a step back and observe what is essential in life.
3. Learn to love the process
Often, we as humans get so caught up on the outcome. It is so much more worthwhile to focus on everything you can do at the current moment. Live in the moment and soak up every second. You will end up where you are supposed to end up. Everything indeed does happen for a reason. Learn to love the grind, whether it be with school, work, friendships, or a relationship. Here are two quotes by Gary V. I like to reference when I think about learning to love the process:
“Nobody has anything to complain about.”
“You can’t complain about something if you don’t put the work in.”
4. Time
College goes by so fast. Everyone will tell you this. You only have so much time before this crazy experience is over. Everybody has time. No matter how busy you are or what you are up to, everyone has time. It truly is just a matter of priorities. If someone says they don’t have time for you, then they just don’t prioritize you. It's not fair to you or fair of them. Do your best to make time for others and to invest in others. One of my favorite quotes by Steve Jobs is this:
“It’s really clear that the most precious resource we have is time.” – Steve Jobs
5. Learn to find peace in the unknown
Sometimes you will not get that internship. Sometimes you will not get into that program. Sometimes you will not get that relationship you want. Life can feel slightly out of your control at times. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but everything does happen for a reason.
Best of luck, everyone. I hope to stay in touch. With that, this is Ben Warren roll number 261 signing off.
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