One of my good friends from college recalls his father’s parting words to him after he’d moved into the dorm to start his freshman year.

“Son, ya’ got four years.”

I suspect it was like many things dads say that:

1. Are wise words, and
2. Are largely lost on their kids.

At the time, my friend understood it to mean that in spite of the fact that he was entering a public university that cost $558 per quarter in tuition (a great deal even in those days), there would be no parent-funded five-year plan available to him. But there’s deeper wisdom to be extracted from that statement whether or not Dad intended it that way.

Many adults look back on their college days with a combination of fondness and regret. There’s plenty of fun and adventure to be had when you’re not yet burdened with full-time adult responsibilities, but it’s easy to let the four years slip by without taking advantage of everything that was available to you.

From studying what interests you, to discovering your talents, to availing yourself of all the campus clubs, resources, opportunities, and experiences, the opportunity to attend college is a gift, one that many adults, even those who’ve already attended college, would jump at if it presented itself. And they’d probably get even more out of it than their kids do. I wouldn’t say that college is wasted on the young, but it’s often valued more by the old(er).

So high school students, please appreciate the future opportunity that’s in front of you. But even more importantly, remember that the benefits of attending college are not limited to prestigious schools. What you do in college will be more important than where you do it. So wherever you go, make it count. You’ve only got four years.