Well…damn it. That went by quickly.

As I’m looking back at the three previous years at MSU, I like to think of what transpired in my years as a sitcom. I do that because 1. There were plenty of very embarrassing moments, a lot of which were captured on camera before a live audience. 2. A TV show really struggles to stay good after four years. After four, it just starts to get sad. And 3. I was a TV addict growing up. While many kids were off playing with their friends, my friends actually were the people on the show “Friends.” Ross and Rachel would never shut up about each other. It was kind of annoying.

Freshman year, you start out as a kid entering a new world where you, and many others, begin this new part of your life. Then you begin to meet your supporting cast. Like the struggles of a new sitcom, such as when “The Office” first came on the air, something doesn’t feel right. You’re not in a groove yet, and everything just feels a little awkward. This is where some retooling takes place. Maybe you drop some “characters” from your life, or introduce new ones to change things up.

But with every show, there is going to be a turning point where you know you have something special.

For me, it was when my grandpa passed away at the tail end of my freshman year. So when you’re able to find that special group of people that will be with you through the toughest of times, that’s when you know you’ve found your core cast. These are the people you want with you for the next four years. And by the time freshman year, or season one, comes to a close, everything seems to be coming together and on the right track so you can have a successful second season.

Your sophomore year is when you’re able to have a lot of fun because now that you’ve found your supporting cast, this is where your adventures truly can begin. Maybe one of your friends disappears into the night and later you find out it was because he or she was thrown into jail. Or maybe a stripper falls off the stage on top of you. You never know what can happen! Your second year is all about having new, high-concept adventures and exploring the world outside of MSU, and maybe even East Lansing.

As with every TV show, you never want it to get stale. The same thing can be said about your life. If you don’t put yourself out there, make a push to experience new things, then what the hell are you doing? You can’t keep rehashing the same story lines as you did the year before. And in this case, you don’t want to be stuck on the same routine. In short, do not, I repeat, do not be “Entourage.”

So entering my third year, I decided to change things up and add a little chaos into my life. Enter The State News.

This was a place I’ve wanted to work at since my freshman year. I would walk past it on Grand River Avenue and just look at it in awe of its history and the famous journalists who came out of here. That’s who I wanted to be and that’s where I wanted to work. I almost applied the year before, but I chickened out and didn’t. I didn’t think I was a good enough journalist yet to deserve to work there. Everyone has those moments of self-doubt, and I’m no different.

So there I was, interviewing for a job I’ve wanted since freshman year. And a week or two later, I officially was hired as part of the staff. It marked the beginning of what was the most stress-filled, tiring, hospital-visited years of my life. It also was the most enjoyable and life-experiencing year as well.

Junior year allowed me to take more risks with my life, literally. Your third season allows you to expand your world outside the confines of what you’re normally comfortable with. You’re on the bottom end of your four-year journey. You can’t hold anything back now. And if I didn’t work at The State News, I don’t think it wouldn’t have been that enjoyable. Because a huge part of what I’ll remember about my time here at MSU are the late nights I worked here, trying to finish a story with my editor giving me the death stare. And when I do think about that, I will have the big, giant smile people around me have grown to both love and hate.

So that brings us to season four. What will this year bring? Spoiler alert! I couldn’t tell you, because even I don’t know. Although I might look at these years as a TV show, our lives are not scripted. We can’t plan for anything because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s kind of like “Lost,” but even more confusing.

And let me end this column with this quote: “The universe is an endless raging sea of randomness. Our job isn’t to fight it but to weather it together…It won’t matter what happens to us as long as we stay honest and accepting of each other’s flaws and virtues.”

This comes from my all-time favorite show, “Community.” No matter what happens to you in your life, there’s no reason you have to go through it alone. And as our series finale approaches, it’s good to keep in mind what you have and how appreciative you should be to have it.

And with that, we exit stage left. #FourSeasonsAndAGraduation

Michael Koury is the Opinion Editor at The State News and a journalism senior. Reach him at michael.koury@statenews.com.