Don't let these vital opportunities pass you by -- or do!

Welcome to college.

I promise right now that this will not be the cheesy, patronizing and cliche welcome piece you've read a hundred times.

I am not going to say welcome to responsibility and maturity — certainly not everybody is at that point yet.

Instead, welcome to opportunity! You can do whatever you want now. You can take whatever classes you want, go to school as often as you want (hey, it's yours/ your parents'/ the government's money). Basically you can choose to grab life by the horns (OK, cheesy) or sit on your butt.

My humble advice to you: Do something. Things rarely fall into your lap. Employers don't care about your grades; they care about competence. If all you do is text message through class and then go home and play video games until you pass out — and hey, it's your perogative! — you most likely won't get where you'd like to be.

There are more opportunities than you can imagine, and all you have to do is a little searching.

Even in a city like Buffalo (which isn't really known for its job prospects) there are a ton of things you could get involved with.

College gives you the opportunity to get involved through internships, or through making connections with teachers and classmates. This summer I am gaining experience through two internships, one I found out about through my teacher and the other I found out about from a classmate. It is important to communicate with your professors and peers in your field of study, because you just might be able to help each other along the way.

Many of us don't have a clue what we want to do with our lives. I know many people in that situation. They want to earn a degree but don't know where to go from there.

That isn't a problem. It may take a while to find something you really enjoy, and can stand to do for possibly the rest of your life. It is still important to get involved with extracurricular activities to make it easier to find what you want to do. Get involved with the campus government, the school paper or the physics club.

If you find, for example, that you really like to write for the school paper, then maybe journalism, advertising or creative writing is right for you. You can discover what tickles your fancy while getting real world experience and meeting other people.

In addition to having something great to put on your resume, make sure you take the initiative to communicate with the admissions staff, and ask as many questions as you need to until everything is clear.

Last year when I was admitted to Buffalo State College, there was apparently a lack of communication between the staff at Niagara Country Community College and myself. NCCC sent my final transcripts to Buffalo State, but those final transcripts did not prove I had my associates degree. It may take me a little longer to graduate and I almost took BSC101, which is not required if you transfer in with an associates degree and a certain number of credits. NCCC nicely sent over my "proof of graduation" free of charge, a year after the fact. If you are a transfer student, make sure the Buffalo State admissions staff knows you have a degree, if you do.

OK, I'll lay on the cheese a little. Don't let life pass you by. Be proactive. Join a club. Find an internship, volunteer and just start doing what you want to do. Now is the time to gain real world experience, make connections and discover something about yourself. Buffalo State College offers a vast array of extracurricular activities and employs amazing teachers, and the beautiful city of Buffalo offers great opportunities for experience and fun.

Ariel Peters can be reached by email at peters.record@live.com.