From the desk of Ashley May - Assistant News Editor

Life, it seems, is so hard to navigate at times. I think that being college-age people in particular gives us an especially arduous trail to blaze.

Most of us are faced with the decision to do the responsible thing or to do something fun instead on a daily basis. I, for one, have almost always chosen to do the thing that is responsible.

I have forgone countless opportunities to catch up with old friends or spend time with new ones for fear that I might –gasp!-- be tired the next day.

But the recent death of my boyfriend's 60-year-old grandma, Rhonda, has indeed taught me life lesson number one: do not waste your time, it truly is fleeting.

Ronda died incredibly young. She valiantly battled kidney, liver and lung cancer for a year before she lost the fight. We watched with great affliction as her already petite body slowly dwindled to a mere 86 pounds as she tried to win her life.

My own grandmother, Lois, suffered an untimely death too; she was only 58 and had been living with ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease) for 18 years.

But through the heartache, grandma Ronda and grandma Lois have inspired me to take that trip to New York City that I've wanted to take for years. Right after I graduate in May, I'm going, come hell or high water.     

If you ever get the opportunity to visit somewhere spectacular, take it. If you're smart, you'll take advantage of Fredonia's study abroad programs while you can. I missed that opportunity but I will never again miss another one because of sheer laziness.  

I'll never forfeit a night out with my friends again just so I can get in a full eight hours of sleep.

I'll make sure to take my dog for more walks so that his life is a little happier too.

I'm not saying that you should all stop doing your homework and head downtown to BJ's every night; I know that a lot of you party too much already.

All I'm trying to express is that you should not put your life on hold just to get a perfect score on everything you do. You should not expect perfection from yourself anyway and one of the most important things about life is creating and maintaining bonds with other human beings.

If you love someone, make sure you tell them. You never know when you're going to speak to them for the last time.

I'll never forget the day Ronda died, when her husband Butch said, "She kept me in line for 46 years. She was my spine." What an incredible gift it is to love like that.

I'm going to make sure that my niece, Shay and my nephews, Payton, Cal and Brooks know that I love them and think about them all the time, even though we are separated by thousands of miles.  

I know that even with my newly found zest for life, I will still have regrets but I'm determined to make sure that I did everything I could to prevent them.

Grandma Rhonda and grandma Lois died surrounded by people who cared for them and were heartbroken to see them go. Their lives were so short but they certainly did not waste them.

Though I do not have the words to express how much I miss them both, I'm glad that they were able to teach me one of life's greatest lessons. I hope they can do the same for you.