Editor’s note: While flipping through the pages of old “Washburn Review” newspapers from the 90s, this headline caught my eye: “Seize the Day.” I read the article attached to this headline and I had an overwhelming feeling that these words still resonate today. It was great advice then and it is still great advice now. This timeless advice acts as a reminder to all that life is short and we need to pursue our dreams head-on. So take it all in while you read and perhaps you will take something positive away from it or, at least, take this article as a reminder to seize the day every day.

Seize the Day
By: Todd M. Manning
Originally published May 9, 1990

It is at times like this with the semester over, that we forget about the most important things. Some of us are going away to start new lives, others to summer jobs or to their families. The thought of what is at the end of the road becomes obscured by our immediate reality.
We all have learned this year, whether or not we were interested in school. We all have grown and now it is time to step back and look at ourselves [and] ask “Who am I?”
For some, it will be hard. The paths we choose today will affect our travels until the day we die.
Every day we hear the bad news about the world we live in. Every day we think someday it will change. Some man or woman with a dream will come along and make it happen.
Wake up! That person is you. Don’t let yourself become just another shadow. You choose what you will become, not some government official, your parents, your spouse or some personality on TV, you choose. If today you decide to become “someone” you can make it happen. You can make things better if you are involved in life.
If you choose to become nothing, that is alright, because at least you chose, and that is something you will have to live with. But if you choose not to become another number, if you stand up when others fall to the wayside, you will be someone you can be proud of.
We all were created equal. Now only our thoughts can make us unique. Do not be afraid to be different. Do not be afraid to be better. Do not be afraid to think for yourself. And even though the jealousy and hatred of a thousand people may weigh upon your shoulders, do not be afraid to say what you think.