Once upon a time there was a rock and roll band called Oasis. Oasis once made a song called “Roll With It,” which, as cheesy and cliched as this is going to sound, is actually kind of inspiring. The reason for this inspiration might seem obvious, but let’s look at the reason why nonetheless.
Fact number one: You are a college student. That means by default you have a lot on your plate. A harsh regimen of classes with a few extra hours of homework tacked on to boot. If that isn’t enough, it’s entirely likely you have a job somewhere that is eating up even more of your time and putting added stress on your shoulders. Factor in a thriving social agenda, like any good college student would have, and you’ve made a high-tension, high-stakes cocktail of life.
Fact number two: Life is now. They say that elementary school is preparation for middle school, middle school is preparation for high school, and high school is preparation for college. College is preparation for what? Life? Take a good look around: Your life is happening right now. It would be nice if college was just another form of preparation, but let’s be honest, there’s just too much going on. The game has already started and the clock is running.
Fact number three: There isn’t a written manual that tells us how to do this. You’re never going to find a carefully laid out diagram that explains what a good life looks like and what you can do to achieve this mysterious goal. And, what is that achievement? Do you get a gold star to wear on your lapel with the words “Great Person”? The bare fact of the matter is, we don’t know what a good life looks like, or how to lead one. If that doesn’t creep you out just a little bit, I don’t know what will.
So, with all this in mind, it’s safe to say things can look pretty grim at times. You and everyone you know has got a tough life going for themselves, that’s just how it is. Life is never as easy as you’d like it to be and you’re always going to get tossed curve balls that you don’t know what to do with. That’s where the song comes into the equation. You just gotta roll with it.
The whole thing sounds painstakingly cliched, believe me I know, but some cliches exist for a reason. The sun is going keep coming up every morning, and you’re going keep waking every morning and having to live your life. None of that changes when the chips are down or things are stacking up. The only way to get by is in learning to deal with things as they come.
This one I know applies to someone out there: Suppose your girlfriend or boyfriend decides to dump you the night before a big test. You have to show up to that class and take the test. If you had a really bad night and you don’t want to go to work early the next day, you gotta just show up and make it happen. It’s probably the advice everyone wants to hear the least, but it’s the honest to god truth.
Now, for the benefit of everyone reading this article, I’m not standing on a literary pulpit trying to preach to you that I have all the right answers, and that in this article I am going to impart to you my wisdom. If I know anything in the world, it’s that I don’t know the “right answers” any more than anyone else. Anyone could have come to this exact same conclusion; I’m just trying to get people to think about what’s going on around them.
We all get dealt the difficult hand once in a while, and I’m sure anyone could have just as easily have figured this out, but sometimes we need a wake-up call. Sometimes we need to have someone grab us by the shoulders and give us a good shake and a rude awakening. Figuratively speaking, of course.
This is your wake-up call, world. Things are tough and they’re just going to get tougher. What are you going to do about it? Quit? No chance. You’re going to keep putting one foot in front of the other and get from here to there. You’re going to show up and do the things you have to do. Nobody’s coming to save you; you’re here to save yourself.
All that said, you can take the advice, or you can call me crazy. Either way, it’s something to think about. You never know, maybe all it takes is for someone to just go with the flow and roll with it.

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