I can’t tell you how many times over break I was asked: “What are you doing after graduation?” Each time I was asked, I mumbled and replied in some sort of rendition of “I don’t know.” Every time I was asked, my anxiety level increased just a little bit more. Needless to say, coming back this semester was a lot different, and a lot scarier than any other time, knowing that in four months I would be out in the real-world and my Brandeis bubble would no longer protect me.
Today I found out that I got into two MBA programs, so my feelings towards graduation are a little different then they were yesterday. Before I knew what I was doing after Brandeis, I was absolutely terrified. Since I can remember there has always been a plan: go to elementary school, to middle school, to high school, and then to college, but after college there are so many options. Would I go to grad school, get a job or volunteer with TFA or AmeriCorps? The options were endless and not set in front of me like they always had been. Now personally my decision is to continue my schooling, but for someone else it may be different. For instance I know seniors that are busy applying for jobs, and others that have sort of shut down, overwhelmed by all the choices.
In the end I am still scared about leaving Brandeis—I will miss the campus, the professors and most of all my friends. I am squeezing in as many experiences, classes and adventures as I possible can in the next four months. The future is terrifying, but as Irene Widugiris in the Registrar’s Office told me, I have so many years left. I am just beginning my life, and I should be excited about what is to come. Brandeis University has started me off right, and I shouldn’t be scared to graduate, rather I should be excited at the prospects of starting something new!