S*** It’s Almost May 16th

Exactly a week ago I received an email from UNC. The first word in the email was “commencement”. The first word that popped into my head was “s***”. Graduation is rapidly closing in and to be completely honest I have been avoiding thinking about it as much as possible. Unfortunately, I cannot avoid thinking about it forever. Since last Thursday I have bought my cap and gown, started planning weekend activities for my parents and sister, planned for grad photos with my friends, and thought about when and how I am going to move my stuff back home.

The First Graduation

I have graduated before, from high school, and been “promoted” as they called it from elementary to middle school, but this is different. For all of those college seniors reading this, I am sure you will be nodding your head along with this post, and for the non-seniors it will come sooner than you think. The lead up to graduation from college is like nothing I have ever experienced before. In high school you are of course going to a new school/city/state, living independently, and making all new friends. That being said, there is still a connection to your parents back home, you have big summer breaks, you get to go out and relax a lot, and you are constantly surrounded by friends you quickly make.

What's Next?

As I sit here looking out to the future post-college it is a lot more intimidating than I thought going from high school to college once was. My job will be in a whole different city and state than I have become used to, I will no longer be able to rely on my parents financial assistance, I will be living on my own, and it is not as simple to make new friends outside of a school environment. Of course, I am also excited to have true independence, to start a new job, to make new friends, to explore a new city, and to begin my adult life with all of the possibilities I have in front of me. This is why I have so many mixed emotions as I prepare to graduate college. The future is uncertain, it always has been and will forever be, but with so many more possibilities post-college uncertainty grows. This is an exciting moment in all of us college senior’s lives and a moment with many emotions. I don’t want to graduate, but I also do. I don’t want to have to budget my money and buy my own stuff, but I also do.  I don’t want to live on my own, but I also do. There are just a few of the conflicting thoughts swirling around in my mind, but in the end I know I am excited to graduate.

In my four years at Carolina I have made many amazing memories and friends. I never want to leave this school, but I know that it is time to move on and strike out on my own. As graduation comes closer and closer by the day, it is only a month and a day from today, I am sad to leave all of this behind, but I know the future holds many amazing possibilities for me and everyone else graduating this Spring. I know this was a lot of rambling, but I hope it was able to capture some of the feelings that come with graduating from college and moving into the real world. College graduation is an exciting and scary time in our lives, but it’s how we move forward that will define us and our experiences.