This year’s freshman class are some of the best and brightest students in the country, but like most young adults they have a false sense of invincibility. It was a dark night that evening about ten days ago. One car carrying a soon-to-be Northern Illinois University freshman was hit by a car in the middle of nowhere.

The man sped off.

My friend is currently in a medically induced coma fighting for his life.

Normally, this column would turn into a long spiel about how you should be careful, especially during the first month of the new school year. But I won’t do it. We’re U of I students, we knew what we were signing up for when we filled out the application. It’s like telling the zebras to steer clear of the lions. This party school is also a highly regarded University and that’s the best of both worlds, or so we think.

Keep your focus on the big picture. More to the point, think about what would happen if you were in that car instead of my friend. I did, and what I thought about wasn’t pleasant. It didn’t register for awhile.

I knew this person as an acquaintance, so why did it hit me so deep? Because it could’ve been me. In fact, it could be anyone of you. So what to do?

With the booze flowing like the mighty Mississippi, it’s difficult not to get caught up in the revelry and celebration. But you don’t need this column to tell you to be careful because you know that already. You don’t need this column to shove morals down your throat, your parents should’ve seen to that.

What you need this column to tell you is to call your loved ones. My friend wasn’t drinking that night. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and there was nothing that could have changed it. The same applies here. Especially here. Don’t get lost in the daily grind to the point of not calling your parents because you don’t want them to nag you about something. That phone call could be the last one you get to make.

College is one of those places where sometimes you can feel completely alone while surrounded by thousands. Don’t break the connections with your past. I didn’t cry when I heard the news about my friend. But I started thinking that if, God forbid, something should happen to me, would those I care about really know how much I care. Is there something you’ve been putting off a while? Sending that card to your cousins or calling that teacher you loved in high school and saying that thanks to them you’re in at the University of Illinois?

The word “random” is used a lot by college students, but unfortunately it cuts both ways. While it can be funny and uplifting it can be also be devastating and demoralizing. The answer to the eternal question of “Why?” may be elusive to us so we must do what we can to cope with life’s unceasing roller coaster of triumph and despair. Regardless of fate’s whimsy, we do have control of our memories. So be sure to make memories, party if you dare, stay up late talking to that special someone, or make that trip home when you don’t need to but just because.

Take the time to get the people you care for to know that you care. Being reckless or not, life will probably throw one right into your helmet at least once so you have to think about what flashes before your eyes while you’re tasting the soil. What is the last memory you have of the ones you loved? If you can’t answer that quickly, maybe you should call your mother.