I still remember my plane ride to Toronto four years ago. I was en route to beginning my undergraduate career at UTSC. I was jaded by everything I had heard about university up until that point; essentially, how the four or five years ahead of me would be “the best years of my life.”

To all you bright-eyed young’uns, I say: believe the hype. Your undergraduate career is fixing to be the most defining period of your life.

But don’t take my word for it. I chatted with several graduates about how valuable they felt their undergraduate years were for them, and here’s what some of them had to say.

Sandra Ngan feels coming to university was a big part of finding out who she is. The recent English graduate learned valuable lessons on leadership, expanded her network and now understands the value of getting involved outside of the classroom.

“If I died right after high school, my spirit could have asked, ‘What have I learned in my life?’ Probably not that much,” said Ngan. “But, if I were to die tomorrow, I could say that I learned valuable lessons on life and love, particularly love for academics. And I got that from my undergrad.”

Stacey Kwan, also an English grad, feels she received more than her money’s worth from her undergraduate years. Kwan said she learned several things from UTSC’s diverse population that she can apply to her daily life. “You can’t put a price on this time,” she added.

Faryal Hussain, a recent biochemistry and neuroscience graduate, thinks that while her undergrad wasn’t necessarily “the time of her life,” she gained a lot from these years that she feels she could not have gotten elsewhere. “The opportunities and experiences I got at UTSC were unique and important; I don’t feel I could have gotten those outside of university.”

“University is all about figuring out what you want to do and don’t want to do,” said Michael Gomez, an English and history graduate. “It’s where people [often] change their minds about their friends, about what they want to study or even who they want to be.”

Truth be told, your university career can be anything you want it to be. The important thing to remember is that it’s your responsibility to take ownership of not only your education, but also your social life, over the next few years.

Remember that your adult life begins here. Whatever happens, just make sure you graduate being able to say that your undergrad was legen—wait for it…dary!