I’m a dreamer. I spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking about the future and what my life will be like years from now. I act like I’ve got it all together, but I’m secretly just as clueless as the rest of us.

Growing up, I always wanted to be somewhere else, and I was always focused on moving on to the next thing. When I came to college, I was ecstatic to finally be somewhere that put me on the fast track to achieving my lifelong goals.

But it took me two years to realize that I was looking at college way too instrumentally. It was simply a means to an end, something that would get me somewhere else. College was serving a purpose, but the fulfillment wasn’t there.

Why is this a bad thing? For starters, I missed out on one hell of an experience. I didn’t start college here, but I owed it to myself to take full advantage of the time I had. If only it had occurred to me earlier that the four years you spend here are about much more than just getting you a job later in life (although that’s important too).

Admittedly, the presence of freshmen everywhere is a somber sight, because I know this is just the beginning for them. They have four years ahead of them with endless possibilities. Make no mistake, your first couple years here are by far the easiest and most fun you’ll ever have, so long as you remain in the present and keep priorities other than just getting out of here.

By the time you’ve become a junior, and realize that college is more than half over, the reality suddenly hits you like a brick wall. Coursework is more demanding, and is no longer something you can only take half-seriously. You’re suddenly occupied with working, extracurriculars and internships. Really, anything that caters to your life after graduation.

Your life is no longer about what you want to do now, it’s all about getting you somewhere else in a couple years. Time starts to fly by quicker than you could imagine as your connection to the here and now dwindles.

It’s incredibly easy to lose track of time. You’re left to figure college out own your own. You have to motivate yourself to accomplish whatever you desire. Often that means distancing yourself from people and activities that you love to focus on the bigger picture.

When you become consumed with what’s going to happen two or three years from now, it’s impossible to take each day at face value. It just doesn’t seem worth it. It’s so easy to get caught up in the illusion of what the future looks like that you forget about everything else and forgo getting everything possible out of your college experience. It’s not a healthy way to go.

Living means balancing your ambition with a passion for your current situation. You don’t want to be the guy that’s so caught up in the job that he’ll have after college that he forgets he’s still a student, and thinks the depth of college is little more than a fancy piece of paper. He’ll graduate, enter the real world and soon after realize he has little to remember his university days by. He’ll often find himself asking, was it really worth it?

You’re the only one who can take control and make college everything you ever dreamed. Sometimes that means giving up certain things for others or letting old friends go. New experiences happen, and it’s easy to get pulled in a million different directions. Nobody said it would be easy, but life is just crazy like that.

For those of you who are just beginning here, there’s only one piece of advice I can give you. Treat your time at this university like a gift. This is your time to shine. Never will you grow and learn as much about yourself as you do in these four short years.

Looking back on my first day at the University of Oregon leaves me feeling carefree and elated. Starting school here just over a year ago was a moment I won’t forget. We can all reminisce about the early days with great fondness. Each experience is remarkable in its own way, but it took me much longer to realize just how differently we all experience college, especially when we’re just starting out.

One of the greatest disparities I quickly picked up on was between transfer students and those who started here as freshmen. Being a transfer myself, I could only look at college through the lens of someone who had already completed their first year, albeit somewhat vastly different.

Transfer students have a unique experience at the UO. My first few months here made that abundantly clear. I met people of all types: some new freshmen who were learning about independence, and others slightly older, with a sense of focus that I didn’t see often among my younger brethren.

That’s not to say that I didn’t meet my fair share of mature freshmen, but often the students who had already spent a year or two (or three) somewhere else had different goals. When someone chooses to switch schools after having gone somewhere else, there’s usually a pretty substantial reason why.

Even before we start attending school here, transfers and freshmen are led on different paths. For starters, IntroDUCKtion is completely different for both types of students. Freshmen attend a two-day program and create deep roots while forming connections with other students. Parents and kids become familiarized with the school while learning diligently about conduct and expectations.

Sophomore Emilee Nutt started here as a freshman last year and described the impact that meeting with faculty had on her.

“When I came to orientation, I talked with a woman in sports business who inspired me that if I worked hard enough and utilized the networking and resources at my disposal at UO, then I could accomplish anything,” she said. “I knew the UO was perfect for my ambition to go into business and when I visited it just felt right.”

On the flip side, transfers are assumed to already possess the independence and preparedness of a university student. Cora Bennett, director of student orientation programs, pointed out how IntroDUCKtion for transfers is only one day, and its emphasis is almost entirely on helping students achieve their academic goals, with discussions about transfer credits, major requirements and graduation planning.

“In orientation for transfer students, we work really hard to address each student’s individual transfer needs when it comes to course selection and degree completion,” Bennett said. “Because many transfer students are so focused and have already developed both short and long-term plans and a sense of purpose for what they intend to do with their UO degree.”

I made the decision to live in the residence halls when I came here my sophomore year because I, like other transfers, wanted that traditional college experience that I couldn’t get at a commuter school. Many others share the same sentiment and the UO is no doubt a great place to facilitate that desire. Senior Michael O’Dell transferred here as a junior last year, and also lived in the residence halls.

“I decided to stay in the dorms when I transferred to UO because I wanted to feel what it was like to come here as a first-year,” O’Dell said. “If I had lived off campus I wouldn’t have made nearly as many friends.”

That being said, not everybody who transfers here does so for the social experience. I knew plenty of transfers who lived off campus since day one, sometimes alone, and came to Oregon for the sole purpose of their education. They knew exactly what their goals were and what they had to do to achieve those goals. They had all their ducks in a row, so to speak.

With the first week of fall term upon us, it’s safe to say we’re all in for an experience. Whether you’re a freshman ready to experience the salvation of being away from home for the first time, or a new transfer prepared to finish off your education strong, we can all take comfort in knowing that the UO has something for just about everyone, even if we all experience it differently.