No one can really prepare you for certain milestones in your life, or the uncertainty that comes with concluding one chapter of your life and beginning another. As my first semester of my senior year of college comes to an end, I’ve realized that I wasn’t very well prepared for the emotions that come with your last year of school. Most would assume that graduating college would bring up feelings of sadness to leave your friends, stress about finding a job, or pressure to succeed in the next stage of your life after school. While these are all emotions that I’ve felt this year, I’ve also had feelings of excitement, loneliness, and growth- feelings that I didn’t really expect to have.
Despite stressing about all of the things we are expected to do after college, I’m excited to see where I end up and how I navigate through the world as a “real adult”. The thought of life after graduation can seem intimidating, but if you’ve figured out how to get through this last chapter of your life, you can figure it out for the next.
The biggest shock I experienced this year was realizing how lonely senior year can be. Everyone is planning their futures and focusing on themselves, leaving limited time to see all of the friends you’ve made the past three years. And each year, your friends all move to different places around campus and everyone becomes more and more distant. This makes it difficult to see people, and when you do, it’s mostly just surface level conversation. The people that want to see you will make an effort to, which might be a good indicator of who you will stay close with after graduation.
The feeling of growth during your senior year is probably the most valuable and fulfilling emotion, but it’s one that I least expected. As someone who has always struggled academically, I’m extremely proud of myself for getting this far in something that I never expected I would. Even the best and the brightest would most likely agree that college is challenging and stressful, for so many different reasons. Most students would also probably agree that they leave a completely different person than when they started, which I think is a good thing. No matter where you go or what you do to attain this growth, it’s a valuable achievement that will help you in the future with whatever path you take.