It seems that no matter what we do in life, we always wish away the time. We hold countdowns for just about every occasion, whether that be a vacation, a holiday, or in my case, a graduation.
Just like that, I’m in my final semester as an undergrad and I definitely have a lot of mixed emotions about it.
When I first came to Monmouth University as a bright eyed freshman, I didn’t know how to feel. It was the first time I was living alone and I felt as though all of this new found responsibility was dumped onto me. Juggling everything was a challenge at first and all I wanted was to go home for break. So while I enjoyed the friendships I found and hung out just as much as (though admittedly maybe more than) I studied, I was also wishing away the time and counting down the days.
What a habit that turned into. I found that every time I came back to school, I wanted to be on break and every time I went home, I just wanted to be with my roommates again. So the cycle continued and now here I am three and a half years later, practically staring graduation dead in the eyes. Looking back on it, the countdowns were a mistake, which is exactly why this semester is going to be different.
I want to make the final months of my undergrad experience ones I can vividly remember years after I walk across that stage. I’m not going to let myself wish away anything, from the painfully boring lectures I sit through during classes in Plangere to the nights I spend in my apartment gossiping with my roommates about anything and everything. None of the senior class should. We all should want to soak up every experience that Monmouth has to offer us in our final months because before we all know it, it will be gone.
There will be no more free time between classes to take that midday nap. No student center lunch date with your best friends. No attending those free comedy nights in Anacon or getting discounted tickets for the school musical. As graduates, we will be expected to go out into the world and get jobs or some of us will go to grad school. Maybe some of us will decide to do both at once. Either way, we lose the right to choose play over work those few times because we “earned” it. Adulting will become our everyday routine and not just a concept that popped in and out of our lives.
They say that life happens in the blink of an eye and before I came to Monmouth I didn’t quite believe it. But, sitting in my dorm and thinking back on all the years I’ve spent here and how it all felt like it happened only yesterday, now I do. So this final semester, I plan on making the most of my time and living in each and every moment. I’ll say my goodbyes in due time.
