Well, it’s time seniors. Except this time it comes without Eve 6’s “Here’s To The Night” playing in your high school gymnasium and a kegger in some cornfield after the last day of school.

While this school could be named Simpson High, insert losing sleep over landing a job with Wells Fargo and finding an apartment for under $1,000 a month in West Des Moines for your graduation gift this time around.

Graduation has been moved up a few weeks, and really all that means is you can party during May term without the threat of not having a diploma after those beer Olympics get the best of you.

Unfortunately, this article isn’t about May term heroics and The Zoo’s dance heroes. This piece is about something all of us have done during these last few months here at Simpson: Reflecting on your time here in Indianola, the Hot Air Balloon Capitol of the nation/world/universe.

If you’re like me, choosing a school after high school was tough, but I knew the minute I stepped on campus here in Indianola something felt right. I liked the small, picturesque, campus and immediately thought Coach Glogowski and the football coaches were a special group that I wanted to be a part of.

Now I know everyone is different, and everyone has had their struggles and problems here at Simpson. I myself have fell victim to the wrath of the parking ticket lady and have had my fair share of meetings with Luke Behaunek and the rest of the Residence Life staff.

Through it all I would still rate my time here at Simpson as the best four years of my life, and I’m not going to let a few $10 tickets and the fact that sidewalks will never be scooped in the winter here make me feel any differently.

By my count you see at least two people a week on the almighty Facebook post a status complaining about this or that, featuring something, “stupid,” “ridiculously overpriced” or my personal favorite: “the damn CA’s.”

Half the time they are probably right to complain, but I want to challenge those who continue to show negativity towards my future alma mater to take a step back and think about what this school does offer you.

Think about all the friends you have gained and all of the memories you have made. Now I’m not going to go all tear jerker on you, but I have honestly met my best friends here at Simpson. Whether it is going to someone’s lake house and grilling out or simply dog-piling the same kid every Sunday for eight weeks,

Simpson College has given me memories that I will hold on to for the rest of my life. Think about the lessons you have learned.

1) You can work on a paper until 3 a.m., but remember nothing good ever happens after midnight. 2) You can party after an upset win over Wartburg until 3 a.m., but nothing good ever happens after midnight. 3) You can Dougie and Stanky Leg at Mojo’s until 2 a.m., I mean, 1:45, but you guessed it, nothing good ever happens after midnight.

On a serious note though, I have learned how to be a leader, how to be a better friend, how to be organized and even learned how to cook. That last one is still up in the air.

All bad jokes aside, sometime after you read this and then later when the highlight of your week is a buffalo chicken wrap from the cafeteria,think about why you came here and why you stayed here.

Take a chance to sit back and watch the leaves change and tell yourself don’t sweat the small stuff, but enjoy the little things.

Alex McCarty is a senior staff writer for the Simpsonian and is a sports administration and integrated marketing major. He played tight end on the Simpson Storm for four years.