Wednesday, January 8, 2014

It's Our Last Semester of College...What?!


At this precise moment I am resting stomach down on my bed, dangling my feet off the side. They’re kicking without a care in the world. No cares..that is until I start thinking about starting my last semester of college.

I’m torn about the end of Christmas break. One side of me doesn’t want to leave my big, warm house in little Bryan. But the other half of me cannot wait to go back to school to be with my friends every day.

This is my last Christmas break…ever. I think a part of my heart just broke. After almost 20 years in school, how do I wrap my head around the fact that I only have a few short months left? A few short months filled with: sitting in lectures, walking in frigid temperatures to class, staying up late working on projects, staying out late with friends, enjoying a Wednesday night at Little Mex singing karaoke and last but not least…a few short months filled with amazing people just a short walk away.

I’m scared.

I’m scared of paying big girl bills and landing that big girl job. Am I prepared? Am I brave enough to move away from the place I’ve called home for four years? Am I ready to leave familiarity behind and venture into the unknown?

And then I think…I’ve already done that before.

I moved away from home and familiarity to go to school at Northern. I didn’t know many people and campus was unfamiliar. I had no idea the types of friendships I would form and I sure as hell didn’t know how my time in college would change me. 

And guess what?

I love who I have become since that August day in 2010. I love how my mind, emotions and personality have shifted from a hopelessly romantic teenager who was scared to meet new people to a liberal, open-minded, logical young adult.

The responsibilities college presented intimidated me. But I grew, matured and figured out a way to transform myself from that scared freshman to the senior who is willing to be a mentor for younger students.

Change can be frightening sometimes, but so can my parents when they’re mad at me! Those things will never fully go away. But that’s OK. It sounds cliché, I know, but what matters is how you deal with those situations.

So for all you graduating seniors, it’s OK to not know where you’ll be in five months. It’s OK to not have your life planned out right now. You’re not alone. I’m in the same boat as you. But let’s make a pact to enjoy our last semester of college! Embrace that the world is still lenient and we’re still learning. But also make those decisions to start looking into your future and figuring out what will make you happy.

Just think, we’ll all have jobs soon so that means:


  • Money to actually pay our bills
  • Money to enjoy a nice night out without feeling guilty
  • Being able to buy Christmas gifts..nice gifts…without having a mini heart attack and breaking your wallet
  • Putting what we know to the test, instead of actually taking tests

Sure, we won’t have time to take naps anymore or go out on a weekday and be able to rebound the next morning, but we will be taking steps to create our own lives and our own families.

I’m sure some people will be able to make a list of pros and cons of leaving college and the cons will outweigh the pros. I, however, don’t want to focus on the “negatives” and try to live in the past. I want to walk forward and focus on my future.

Thinking about graduating college and leaving friends back at school brings tears to my eyes every single time. But thinking about the endless opportunities that are ahead gives me a feeling that I can’t even describe. The world is at my fingertips…our fingertips (graduating college students), so let’s take advantage of the opportunities and stop the self-loathing thinking we’ll never have fun again!

But I want to know what you're most excited about and scared for when preparing to graduate. I'm sure we all have a lot in common!


Until next time, stay classy my fellow bloggers.

Candace



Here are some Buzzfeed articles I’ve read relating to this post. They’re ridiculously accurate and just funny to read.

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