People are confused about who to quote when they say “everything in moderation,” but little do they know it’s three words over a door of a temple in Delphi.

Here at Kent State, we’ve covered a couple of weeks of class, and things should be getting into full swing for all the students roaming the campus. Soon enough, we won’t see freshmen walking in packs of 50 on Thursday nights, and as we learn to adjust back to the college life, we have to keep in mind that there’s a gentle harmony to be found amidst the freedoms here.

You’ll have the opportunity to embark on all sorts of ridiculous adventures, but never forget the ultimate purpose of these years. We’ve all got that voice nagging us to miss that class, go out that night and do whatever other awful things I wouldn’t dare put in this column. I won’t lie, sometimes I miss class, sometimes I go out on nights that I shouldn’t, but for the most part we’re stuffed in books and writing long-winded papers.

There are a lot of trials to face at Kent State — big and small. By day, you’ll observe a sea of men with their chests puffed out bellowing chuckles from their gut, nodding back and forth to each other. Amidst them, there will be frantic females decked out in semi-similar outfits, their laughter piercing the air with the ability to break icicles, sending chills up your spine.

You’ll see everybody else, too. There are people zipping by on bicycles, fidgeting loners walking with shoulders stuffed in an attempt to keep people out of their radii, and all the other regular faces on campus.

All of them, including yourself, are likely busy with some facet of life, don’t worry about what they’re doing, and don’t worry about how you look when they see you.

I’m not telling people to not seem or act confident; every self-help source under the sun tells you that you need to love yourself before you can love someone else. True, a little confidence never hurt anyone, but we aren’t lions on some kind of savannah.

We’re just college kids busy with lecture classes who may or may not be recovering from some kind of ordeal the other night.

The sooner you decide where you stand on things, and the sooner you stop attempting to police the minds and actions of others, the quicker things will begin to make sense around here. It’s noble and all that you care about others, but we’re adults now, don’t tell people their business.

Students and friends get drunk around here, people have sex, too. I know, right? What kind of world are we living in, or should I ask what kind of world were you living in that didn’t prepare you for this kind of stuff? This is college, do whatever you’re going to do — that’s one of the joys of freedom. It is a luxury granted to all here, don’t bother telling them what to do or how to think, don’t buy into the pressure or get too caught up in things, go with the flow.

Yes, everything in moderation. I mean it when I say it. Only through experience will you learn the finest lessons of life. Expect to face the good and the bad. That’s part of growing up in these parts. Give advice and seek it out from others, but ultimately you have to decide for yourself. Once you get old enough to be in college you should begin to know what’s best.

Ron Soltys is a freshman pre-journalism major and web-tech for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].