I’ve rewritten this column at least six times. It’s my last one as I’ll be graduating in May, so I’ve been trying to dole out some advice I could give my readers to get through the treachery of exams. However, I’m taking a different approach for this last hoorah.

I am always the girl who skips out on a night of fun because alcohol consumption isn’t permitted in my diet. I’m always the one who, if I do go out, ends up going home obnoxiously early so I can kill it during my morning run.

I’m very hard on myself, and my diet and workout regimen isn’t just strict: It often interferes with so many things I want to do because my health and frankly, my vanity, are prioritized.

Being very health and fitness conscious during college has been a real struggle at times. I’ve missed out on a lot because my metabolism just cannot handle the booze, pizza and sleepless nights.

However, it’s my last week of college ever, and I’ve decided that I’m going to party my face off. Don’t think about the calories in a few beers, forget the terrible, gut- wrenching regret and diarrhea I’ll have after eating Boot pizza and ignore the pounding headache I may have during my five mile Saturday morning run. I’ve lived almost four years in New Orleans and I’ve missed out on a lot, so I’m packing it all in during this last week.

Balancing health, fitness and wellness during these four years can be really, really difficult, but I can’t say I completely regret it. I’ve gotten so far in my physical fitness that if I saw myself at 17, I think I’d cry. All of the sacrifices I’ve made have changed me inside and out.

However, my advice to those graduating in the years to come is this: find true moderation. I’ve preached about this a lot, but I don’t always practice it. These are the only four years of your life where you can get away with such debauchery. Go dance like an idiot at the Boot, go spend your last ten bucks on a pitcher and put your safety and integrity on the line at Snake’s. If you don’t use this time to act as truly obnoxiously as you can, you may regret it. Most importantly, when you’ve spent the weekend acting like a fool, just make sure you get into the gym or out to the beautiful park to sweat out all your fun. You have four more years to be a kid, so get out there and make some poor choices.

Caitlin Spieker is a sociology senior and personal trainer who is working on a certification from the American College of Sports Medicine. She can be reached at [email protected]