A new year has begun, rife with oppor­tu­ni­ties as promised by uni­ver­sity founder Woodbridge Ferris over a cen­tury and a quar­ter ago.

As my time spent here has been con­sid­er­able, I can say with some author­ity that the time you enjoy, and con­trar­ily dis­like, on this cam­pus is solely your own responsibility.

This is a chance for a change, if you want it. Regardless of what you’ve done in the past, all you really need to con­cern your­self with is the present… and maybe a lit­tle bit of your future.

University life rep­re­sents a type of micro­cosm of actual life. The strug­gles and suc­cesses are all your own and the knowl­edge gar­nered isn’t always from a text­book or class­room. This flame is a sig­nal, like a flare, to illu­mi­nate oppor­tu­ni­ties and serve as a guide in darker days. Cut the cord from Mom and Dad (save for cer­tain care pack­ages and unso­licited finan­cial gifts) and strike out on your own. Mistakes are okay, just don’t keep mak­ing the same ones. Keep the drama to a min­i­mum. This is too much fun to be sour about some­thing that won’t be impor­tant three weeks from now.

You can con­trol your own activ­i­ties. We’re talk­ing no bed time, break­fast in the after­noon and never mak­ing your bed ever again, unless you want to.

There is a time and a place for every­thing. It’s called col­lege and you are here.

But the amount you enjoy your time at Ferris State University this year is directly pro­por­tional to the amount of time you put into avoid­ing being a bed­room slug. This Ferris State stu­dent endorses a sam­ple of every­thing if you’re new to the cam­pus. There will always be time for the entrée in your later years.

Dig in.