"Why are we here?" was the catchphrase of my beloved -- and much feared -- high school biology teacher.It seems so often that we forget.

I forgot last semester when an early case of senioritis set in. I spent the whole semester whining about attending classes, shooting photographs and my job.

I hated writing articles for class, I hated taking pictures for the newspaper, and I hated all those annoying customers who continually came into 2000 Degrees, where I work.

I wanted to lay in bed or sit on my couch reciting episodes of Brian Fellow's Safari Planet or Astronaut Jones with my roommates and to not be charging all over campus with a very heavy camera slung over my shoulder.

Everything was terrible and I made sure everybody knew about it. In fact, I probably spent more time complaining about it than actually doing anything else. I definitely didn't get to spend that time on the couch.

Maybe it was an early case of senioritis, but for some reason I forgot entirely why I was here. I don't think I'm the only one.

Sometimes, I forget that I chose to come to Penn State, that I walked into the room to audition to be a photographer for the newspaper, that I applied to work where I do.

Similarly, you applied to come to Penn State, to do what you do and not do what you don't.

I realized over break, I do love the life I've built here at Penn State, and I only have one more semester to enjoy it. I was the reason I was miserable.

I re-evaluated.

While having a job outside of The Daily Collegian is difficult on top of all my other responsibilities, I lucked out by having a very understanding boss. Not only that, but working at the paint-your-own pottery store downtown is also a very out-of-the-ordinarily-fun job. And sometimes people even bring in their kids and -- gasp -- babies!

Penn State has so many classes that once you're a senior, if you've played your cards right, you can end up doing some crazy things for credit. This semester I get to ice skate, design news pages, watch movies and learn to copy edit (OK, so maybe that doesn't excite you like it does me).

It turns out that I love my major.

And then there are the hours upon hours I spend at the newspaper. I won't say it's easy, but there are those moments -- when you get to be about five feet away from Dave Matthews or mere inches from Chester from Linkin Park -- that tend to make you forget trudging through a muddy field in the rain to shoot cross country on your Saturday morning.

So I realized that maybe I was looking at things wrong. I had been annoyed that I was spending time on things that, in reality, are the things I love.

It's easy to forget that we all create our own lives, make our own paths. And it's easy to fall into a rut where everything seems to be terrible.

Sometimes, though, you just need to step back and realize that you're looking at them the wrong way.

Whether it's shooting a good assignment or a lame one, helping a little kid squirt out some neon green glaze, cleaning that glaze off the floor or grabbing a cheesesteak at the sandwich store where everyone knows my name, I'm trying to enjoy the last semester of my Penn State life.

I don't think it could get any better.