If you were to ask me this time last year whether or not I was ready to be graduating, I would have given the same answer I have today: not quite. The reasoning behind the two responses, though, are somewhat different.
As a junior, I was more influenced by the fear of not knowing what lies ahead rather than the concept of leaving SLU behind. I felt as though I had hardly had any time to make my mark on a place where so many marks are made. Growing up in a small town where every member of your community knows you, or at least someone you’re related to, instills a desire to be remembered.
But this year, I’m finding myself less and less concerned about the impact I am leaving, and more focused on what is to come. I’m accepting this season of change and gratitude with a heart as wide-opened as possible. (It’s important to note that I still have some on-brand moments of panic when facing what some might call “minor inconveniences” coming in the way of my goals).
I’m still unsure and will always a little bit worried about what the future holds, but now that I have more of a foundation for my passions, I am so much more prepared for it.
Some might say it is too early to be feeling nostalgic for the present. That the more I hype it up, the harsher the sadness when I actually have to go.
I don’t see it like that. Sentimentality allows me to keep in mind the moments I’ll love remembering later on. As I am living them, it reminds me to take in as many details as I can.
SLU has given me friends for life, interesting eating, drinking, and sleeping habits (that probably need refreshed before entering the “adult world”) and reignited passions for helping the world and those who inhabit it.
There is so much that I can go on about as I wrap up my time here in St. Louis before spring arrives. But that’s an article for another (not so far away) day.
And like so many Instagram captions remind me every May: even after graduation, I will be a daughter of SLU, forever.