The more things change, the more they stay the same.

If I’m not stationed in some remote outpost in the desert, I find myself in a frozen ocean of cornfields that stretches from here to the Rockies.

After nearly four years adrift in America’s Corn Belt, a reluctant acceptance of my situation has settled in. I no longer gripe about the insurmountable distance between DeKalb and Chicago the way I used to; the myth of nothing to do in DeKalb is dissipating.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not espousing that DeKalb and Shangri-La are one and the same. Only people born and raised on Mars think DeKalb’s clubs are as good as clubs get. I acknowledge they serve a purpose. After all, a college town without venues for inebriated debauchery would be un-American.

Further, were it not for the hard-working owners and employees of our area watering holes, some of you would never get over your severe social phobias and you would never develop a tolerance to alcohol on par with a Boston dockworker. Surely, that counts for something.

Of course, there are house parties. For the uninitiated, house parties are a pre-graduation requisite. Not only do they provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the alcoholism you honed at the clubs, but you literally cannot graduate until you have been to one.

Although the preceding statement is an absolute lie, it cannot suppress a perceived college axiom: When it comes to experimentation, the best kinds often happen outside the classroom.

Experience has shown me that, over time, drinking loses its novelty factor and some experiments can make a Frankenstein’s monster of your reputation.

However, time stops for no one and you wake one day only to realize you have three-and-a-half years until graduation and no idea how to pass the time.

The consensus regarding this pivotal crossroads is that two options exist. Either you fall into a deep, dark melancholy manifested by a deep cynicism of everything, forcing you to survive only by never breaking routine, or you embrace your desperate situation by improving your surroundings and you begin to look for better ways to spend your time.

The key in either scenario is your attitude.

Thankfully, your days here are limited. When you decide to trade in your assembly-line mentality in favor of something more personalized, you will make difficult decisions. Harold Wright, director of NIU’s MBA program, during a recent graduation ceremony, gave the best advice about this inevitable conundrum.

“Do things differently,” Wright said.

“When he said that, I thought, ‘He’s absolutely right.’ What I’ve learned is that it takes courage to dare to be different,” said recent MBA graduate Phoebe Hodges-Carter. “When you think outside the box you force others to do the same. Sometimes that can be a source of animosity.”

Over time, our routines will break and reveal the unconventional. If you find yourself on the brink of discovering a new way to do something and the only casualty is routine, then by all means, proceed. It would be irresponsible to be in possession of valuable know-how and not use it. You should never be afraid to contribute for fear of criticism.