A Personal Reflection About the End of an Era

So I haven’t posted in a while, mainly because I’m graduating in 20-freakin’-days, and boy oh boy the grind is on to make it across that finish line. With finals whoopin’ my ass 24/7 and the non-stop search for a job, I’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone get my “last month of college-let’s go crazy” drink on. It’s extremely depressing—and even more stressful.

I’m almost glad it’s over. (But not really—it sucks so bad!)

Anyway…with the little time I do have to sit back, atop my roof and think (we finally found a way up there and it’s incredible!) I’ve been reminiscing about the last four years and how great they have been. About all the good times and even the bad. About the tears we’ve cried and the laughs we shared, and most importantly, about the friends that have truly become like family—a family that is soon to part. It’s heart-breaking really.

But I’ve found a light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve discovered something sweet in this simply bitter situation. It’s the start of something new and I’m actually excited about it.

All this time I’ve been looking at this all wrong—always from a negative viewpoint. It’s “the end of an era,” the close of the best chapter in my life thus far, etc., etc. But it doesn’t have to be that way—and in all actuality, it’s not.

To all my fellow soon-to-be-graduates, I want you to think back to freshman year. Think of how exciting it all was, about how new it all was—the people, the places, the smells, and the sounds. It was a blank page in the start of new chapter, and you, alone, were to determine how it would be written.

Graduating high school was extremely sad, leaving behind friends that you pretty much spent a lifetime with, growing and learning—only to all go your separate ways. But you got over it.

I mean, the memories were never replaced and they still sit in the back of your mind, pleasantly attainable and warming upon remembrance. But when college came and a fresh start was ever-so-present at your fingertips, it was as if the whole world was in front of you—ready to be conquered; all yours for the taking.

Graduating college allows for the same.

We’ll move on, to bigger and better things. If we’re lucky we’ll take some friends with us, and even if we don’t—we’ll still have the memories to blanket us in the cold of night—the new night of endless possibilities.

I’ll be moving down to Hoboken, NJ, with some of my best college girlfriends, and together we’ll take on this something-new and run with it; just as we did as freshmen. I’m wary and a little bit nervous about what the future holds, but I’m not about to allow my fears and anxieties take hold of this wonderful gift that life has provided me with—a chance to continue in my journey for greatness.

If we never moved on, the world would never be where it is today and I’d like to think that I too, can be a part of the big picture.

I’m sad to this see these past four years come to an end. I’m sad that I’ll have to say goodbye to most of the friends and acquaintances that made these last four years what they are. But I’m not scared of tomorrow, nor regretful of its arrival.

I’ve found a light at the end of the tunnel—the start of something new. And luckily, some of my closest college girlfriends are standing there waving me through; letting me know that while the end is near, the beginning is only just starting.