Graduating from college is amazing. After years working up to this moment, everything is all done. Even though I was very ready to be finished, I have found myself sad that this season of life has come to an end.

Not that I desire more assignments, I am sad to see people I have grown close to leave. I now have friends that are across the globe that I may never see in person again. It was after graduation festivities that I found myself hit by this reality.

When my family left after their long weekend trip for graduation I was reminded how difficult it is to say goodbye. This just reinforced what I had come to recognize about graduation and how difficult saying goodbye can be. I will end up back in school but this will never be the same.

I had one professor that always talked about how we in our sadness, must remember all the wonderful things that have happened in our lives and remember that we must move forward into a new season of life.

Graduation is a huge goodbye. Goodbye to the ones we love, as we spread out to the rest of the world. It is also the end of a beautifully written story. And though I am very glad that I am done, I find myself wishing for just a little more time.

I suppose this is true for all of life. We find ourselves wishing for just a little more time. However, as we recognize the end of a beautiful season we can look forward to the future. While there will be many people I shall miss dearly, I am able to wish them the best in their endeavors and remember that we were the best of friends.

As I look to the future I see many new budding relationships with people and anticipate many wonderful life changes. Through all of college I have learned many life lessons but the lesson of change has been locked in. Changing seasons are difficult for all people; we are saying goodbye to what we have come to love.

Thinking about the future is what really helped me to remember that changing seasons are good, yet challenging. This summer I will be getting married to a wonderful woman I met while at college. This reminded me that not only will my life be changed, it will forever be changing as I embark on a new season of life with someone else.

One thing that I believe to be important is recognizing that while seasons of life change we can find joy as we keep moving forward. If we can learn to recognize the good times behind us and the good times that lay ahead, we can be hopeful in the new season we are beginning to experience.