The Beginning of the End

Senior year. Here it is. Am I ready? It's doesn't matter if I am or not.

I think the most best and worst thing about college is that it thrusts you into a world of constant social interaction. You eat with friends, live with friends, do homework with friends. Even the most introverted of introverts will experience a great deal of time with people. Simultaneously, the prominent and inescapable theme of junior and senior year is that you're profoundly alone. Think about it, that time is spent preparing to enter life after college, whether that be moving directly into the workforce in a given field or in my case, preparing for graduate school. It is a terrifying fact that after graduation, there is no communal dining hall, no neighborhood where all the houses have a name and a personality bestowed by their residents, no talent shows where you know all the performers. For me, there may be just a rainy city in which I know less than 10 people personally.

It's not a bad thing to prepare to be alone. The way in which the college student develops may just make them a better person. Think about it, in an environment surrounded by people of common purpose, you have to develop an individual identity that makes you stand out in some way. You decide who you're going to be and how you're going to relate to people. Of course this identity isn't static, but when you're working on it for 2-3 years, you usually create something semi-solid. You then have to take that identity and sit in it and transfer it to new environments, away from college.

Am I terrified? You bet I am. Is it okay to be thrust into a terrifying and uncomfortable situation? Yes. These days, I live off of To-Do lists. Today, as soon as I crossed one item off, I seemed to just add two more items to the list. Perhaps that's what entering adulthood is all about. No matter, I can do this.

It's Senior year. Time to do work.

Be well,

Megan

Grad Parties

I sincerely hope your summer is eventful and you're staying cool in the heat wave.  I hear it's supposed to last all week. Oh well, it's a taste of what the New Orleans trip might be like. ;) Two weeks!  I can't contain myself much longer.

Summertime for us freshman coming back home and for the graduating high school seniors means one thing: Grad parties.  In my area, they last well into July if not all summer.  I hear that's a little bit strange but it's how we do. Last weekend I went to parties for my friends Sabrina, and Taylor.  This weekend I went to the party for my friend Kendra (who is a future Cobber!) and next week I'll go to a party for my cousin,William.

Grad parties are epic for several reasons.  You've got the food, everything from taco bars to pulled pork sandwiches, all sorts of salads, and ice cream!  Oh, and anyone with a chocolate fountain gets some major points from me. Grad parties have been a wonderful opportunity for me to see friends who weren't in my graduating class, and to talk a bit about college and answer any questions. It's been lovely, but coming back and going to all these grad parties has made one thing painfully evident... how much of a difference a year makes.

We, meaning my graduating class and I, are in a completely and totally different phase of life than just a year ago. I don't necessarily believe it's an issue of drifting apart, but everyone is off doing their own thing, living their own lives. I expected to see certain people, and I didn't.  In some ways the grad party ushers in this phase of consciously removing yourself from a group state of mind and basing your decisions on yourself and what you need.

I always say that leaving my hometown for college was one of the best decisions I ever made.  I will always stand by that statement, because I didn't compromise my happiness for ease. To their credit, I believe all my graduating friends have understood the importance of doing what's right for them and have acted accordingly. I'm proud of all of them.  I think the summer before you leave for college is the best and worst possible.  You do whatever you can to have as much fun as possible, but the impending separation is too tangible to ignore.

It may be painful, but it can also be exciting and wonderful at the same time. I guess a lot of changes in life are like that...

Be well, stay cool.
All my love,

Megan