Take risks.
If there is one thing we know about human beings, it is that we tend to underestimate certain kinds of risk and overestimate others. Swimming around in shark-infested waters is comparatively safe. If you really want to take risks, drive a car around your neighborhood to complete routine errands!
Life is short.
These days, thanks to advances in medicine, life is only somewhat short! A better way of putting this might be "Life is never quite as long as you want it to be." But that is true no matter what you do. So make the most of it!
But who am I kidding? You are not going to be in the real world. You've seen this economy. You're going to grad school.
Alexandra A. Petri ’10, a former Crimson editorial writer, is a columnist for the Washington Post.