Last week, at a small college only about two hours from Colgate, a student was hit by a truck as she crossed the street and her life ended a few short days later. She went to a school roughly the same size as Colgate, in a college town about the same size as Hamilton. As for the girl herself, she had a great sense of humor, a big smile, tons of friends and family who loved her and a “hello” ready for anyone.

This rare but devastating event could have happened to any one of us. The setting is nearly identical to Colgate, and the simple act of crossing the road is nothing exceptional. This misfortune reminds us that there’s no rhyme or reason for death, and we can’t always plan on being old and gray before that fateful event happens.

Saturday Night Live comedienne Gilda Radner said it better than I can.

“I wanted a perfect ending,” Radner said. “Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.”

I’m aware that this sounds ridiculously cheesy, but as Thanksgiving comes nearer and exams and papers seem to suck the joy out of life, I just wanted to write a little reminder that we only get so much time to live (and we don’t even know how much time that may be), so let’s be thankful for the opportunities we have and enjoy them while we have them, okay?

After all, that paper or test is only one little mark that counts towards one grade during one semester of your college years, so don’t spend all your energy worrying about it. Try to enjoy each day, whether it has a test in it or not. Don’t waste energy being prejudicial, holding a grudge or being angry if, say, your preferred presidential candidate didn’t win the election or if your friend did something you don’t agree with. Like it or not, each day could be our last, so let’s make the most of each precious moment we have. We owe it to ourselves and to the memories of others who weren’t fortunate enough to have them.