Over my four years of study at TCU, I’ve realized that most people already have at least a basic comprehension of the meaning of responsible citizenship, but almost everyone inevitably gets caught up in the daily grind of college and loses their sense of responsibility as a citizen. In particular, those pesky semesters where you take 18 hours, start a job, do research, or otherwise have too much on your plate and fall off the wagon when it comes to community service, faith, family, and everything else that makes us citizens instead of mere college students.

The difference between those who manage their time in this respect and those who get sidetracked comes from simply doing it. It’s not about taking too many classes, too difficult classes, working too many hours, or even the ubiquitous “too busy.”

If you’re taking 18 hours, just do it.

If you have a job on the side, do it.

If you’re working on research along with classes, keep doing it.

If you don’t feel like you have time, do it anyway!

Billionaire Art Williams gave a similar speech a quarter century ago in which he repeated this two-word phrase. His insight from developing one of the largest life insurance companies in the world aligned exactly with my experiences in organizations at TCU. My message to all TCU students, especially underclassmen, is: No matter how busy you think you are, you have time to be a responsible citizen in the global community. Just do it!

Next essay: Will Hardy ’13 – When you wish upon a star 
TEDx at TCU – “What does responsible citizenship look like?”