After graduating from high school, I remember hearing many of my older family friends and relatives telling me to “live it up in college” because these were supposed to be the best years of my life.† I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard this, and as soon as I told anyone that I was about to start college in the fall, they would automatically begin reminiscing about some crazy story that happened to them in college, usually without me asking them. It seemed that college was going to be where my life began and ended, but after struggling with this for the entire year, I am sure that this is not where my life will end.† Yes, graduation is terrifying, and it will separate us from many of our friends, but it also opens up so many different opportunities and we should all be excited about that.
Spending these past four years at Wooster has been amazing.† I have met some of my best friends here and have had so many great experiences.† Because of these experiences, and because of the sentiments expressed to me after my high school graduation, I struggled with the idea of graduating from college.† I kept wondering what I had to look forward to now that I was graduating and had apparently just completed the most amazing years of my life. While I was nervous I only had taxes and work to look forward to, my indecisive nature kept me thinking that I was ready to experience something new and exciting outside of the College.
I spent much of first semester grappling with how I should think about this last year at Wooster, knowing that I hated the thought of leaving my friends, but also knowing that I wanted a change.† It took me a while, but I have slowly come to the realization that graduation marks the end of living in a dorm with our friends nearby and taking classes at Wooster. However, it does not mean the end of “the best years of our lives.” In fact, it is just the beginning of our lives.† We will be entering the business world, getting jobs and living on our own.† We will be meeting new people, making new friends and going to new parties and events (all without having to think about Independent Study or midterms).† While it terrifies me to try new things, I know we are all prepared for what comes after graduation.
It will be hard to say goodbye to our friends and to leave Wooster behind, but the future is something we should all be looking forward to.† College has been such a great experience, but there are so many more things to enjoy outside of Wooster.† We should all live it up this last week, have fun and spend time with our friends, but we should also keep in mind that our lives are just beginning.