When you start college, you think of graduation as the day that’ll never actually come. You spend each semester consumed by coursework and extracurriculars while not-so-patiently awaiting the next break. But with each term that passes, you grow closer to the day that you are no longer a student. No longer someone that has the next plan already laid out for them. That realization can be pretty scary.
As my last semester of college draws to a close, it’s pretty wild to look back on just the past few months. This fall semester started with my brain consumed with “what-ifs”. What if I don’t find a job right away? What if I somehow fail my classes and have to stay another semester? What if I disappoint my family? What if I amount to nothing?
The spiral would go on and on and on. But as time passed, I realized that this last semester of college was one large beast I was trying to tackle with my slowly declining mental health as my weapon. Once I took a step back, I made the important realization that I just had to take it one day at a time.
Thankfully, I am now approaching my graduation with open arms. The unknown excites me rather than filling me with dread. And although I may not have a set plan or know what I’m doing even a month from now, I know that whatever is meant to be will be.
EW! GROSS! A CLICHE! Trust me, I know. But this is really the first time in my life that repeating that mantra has given me so much comfort. And to make it even better – I know it to be true.
So much change has happened these last four years. Scary change, happy change, but all change. Change is a way of life, and post-grad life may be the biggest change of all. But that doesn’t make it any less exciting, right?
If you’re in the same boat and about to wave goodbye to this era of your life, I think we should all take this time to celebrate. College is hard. Whether it’s your academics or personal life, this time really tests your limits in ways you don’t expect (and especially aren’t prepared to tackle) at 18. But we did it! And that is a BIG deal. Whatever is next in store for each of us is going to be incredible!
Congrats soon-to-be grads! You did that!