Senior Year.
Two words that I never thought I would hear again. High school graduation was one thing, but college? This is a whole other ballgame.
It seems like lately all that’s been asked is ‘what’s next?’ and let me tell you if I knew, you would probably hear about it. As of right now? I want to make the most of it. So, the following are a few things I want to say to myself, and others graduating, as we take in the next 5 weeks or 5 months before graduation.
The first thing I hope is that I make the most of it. Cheesy? Probably. True? Definitely.
Go to that football or hockey game, spend a Friday night with your friends at the bar, go wild for your birthday, have that movie night with your best friends. Six months from now, the world will change. You’ll most likely be back home, sitting with your parents, wishing you had one more chance to scream your rouser during a game-winning goal. Whether you know it or not, sitting in those stands, going out, or doing whatever it is will feel different than college-life.
Yes, the world will go on around you, you still have courses to finish and life to live, but don’t stress. It’s more than okay to not have post-grad life all mapped out. I surely don’t. Like my mom always says, it all works out. Which is more than true at this point in time. If you know what you’re doing, have that perfect job lined up, or know you’re continuing your education, that’s awesome. Some people don’t. Either way your life plays out is just fine and that’s the way it’s meant to happen right now.
Who can say what the next month, year, or 5 years look like?
So, as you’re sitting in that seat, listening to the commencement speaker, finding your family in the stands, and waiting for your name to be called, remember this:
You have achieved so much already. College is a ride that not everyone gets the opportunity to take part in. Your nerves on the first day of Freshman Year were beyond worth it. Remember those endless nights in the library, the ones you spent laughing all night with your roommate, or the mythical snow day that happened that one year. It all leads you to that one moment in time.
So when one door closes, another will open. From that point on, they will continue to keep opening.
For future me:
Take that crazy job offer. Travel beyond your wildest dreams. Spend time with your family. You deserve it more than you will ever know.
Here’s to living out our wild college lives before May. You might have no money and classes to stress over, but damn the memories will be more worth it in the end.