It’s 7:58 a.m. on the first day of the Spring semester and for some City College students this morning is considered a fresh start.

For others who are struggling to find parking, or stressing about being late, this is the first of many dreaded mornings to come.

What causes students to see school as some dull activity that needs to be fought through every day? Why are some of us listless and disheartened when it’s time for class, but so blissful when it’s time to leave?

Granted, class hours are always seemingly inconvenient, the workload is nearly unbearable, and by week four, many teachers start to take the form of a dark storm cloud just about ready to rain.

But for some students, education is viewed as the only thing to depend on in life. It provides long-lasting stability, and indefinite success.

We are blessed to have the opportunity to come to school everyday.

Billions of people in the world can only dream of having a place to learn about anything they want to know. Our resources are so valuable, and yet we so blindly fail to notice the significance of these resources. We take them for granted because we can depend on them to be there whenever we wish to make use of them.

Throughout my high school years and the first at City College, I constantly wondered why school was so difficult. I missed more classes than I attended, and manipulated my way out of getting in trouble for never coming to school.

From six-to-twelfth grade, I had numerous teachers who did all they could to help me get on the right track. They set up tutoring hours, and even gave me extra assignments to do so I could pull my grades up.

I never took advantage of those opportunities, and ended up with no plan for the future. I had no aspirations, and never thought of going to college.

During my first year at City College, I unfortunately experienced hardships that forced me to reflect on my purpose in this world. I grew up a lot that year, and ultimately life gave me a swift slap.

The people you party with today aren’t going to take care of you after college. You will be the only one responsible for your life. So why dedicate 90 percent of your time to people and things that won’t matter to you five years from now?

This time will pass too quickly. We have to take advantage of the opportunities we are given, and uphold the promise of a better future for our world. Because with more educated people, the future is brighter.

President Barack Obama often says that the students are the future, and the fate of our world rests in their hands. If we slack off now, not only do we let ourselves down, but we also let down the people who wish and hope every day for a better world.

Be selfish. Don’t dedicate your time and energy to what only makes your life harder.