In a few short days I'll be taking my steps across the stage at graduation (at my university we have a rotating stage so please pray for me because I tend to be a little clumsy sometimes). For the past few months I've been anticipating this day with so much eagerness. Recently it's hit me that life will never be the same and that I'm about to leave a city I love filled with my awesome friends.
I'm going compare how I feel about graduating college to some of the lyrics from the Verve’s 1997 hit “Bittersweet Symphony.” Why? It's a great song, and it's something different from the typical college graduation article.
‘Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life.
Graduation is one of the most bittersweet moments in life. It doesn't matter what you’re graduating from. You're leaving a part of your life you've dedicated yourself to. My life has revolved around school for the last 18 years. Yet I'm moving on and entering the “adult world.” (Quotes are necessary because who really is 100 percent adult?) I'm excited to not come home and do homework or study. I can actually enjoy my hobbies more than once a week and not plan my entire life around school (now it will be work, but I am confident I'll love my job). I am going to miss making last minute plans with friends and randomly running into people I know.
Try to make ends meet | You're a slave to the money then you die.
My biggest fear post-grad is that I'm going to get consumed in making as much money as possible or I'll spend too much on all the things I've never been able to do. I'm traveling for my career so I have to go explore as many places as possible. I want to be able to retire (fingers crossed) someday so I will need to set money aside for that. Oh, did I mention pay off my loans too?
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down | You know the one that takes you to the places | where all the veins meet yeah,
Seriously though, my life has revolved around school for the last 18 years of my life. I've been living in an awesome city for the last four years that I'm not ready to leave! Yet the world is so big and there are so many other places I can fall in love with and so many new things to experience! Moving somewhere new every few months will force me to make new friends, find new regular places and make me discover how capable I truly am. At the same time, it will make me value the time I spend with friends and family more.
No change, I can change | I can change, I can change | But I'm here in my mold | I am here in my mold
I really want to become a better person but I don't want to loose my goofy hilarious self in the process. (Queue: "Nobody's perfect, you live and you learn it!") As I transition into the real world, I'll continue to mature but so desperately want to stay true to myself. In the four years of college I've tried a lot of different things out and I've discovered a few things and learned a lot of lessons along the way.
But I'm a million different people | from one day to the next | I can't change my mold | No, no, no, no, no.
I went through a few different obsessions and phase throughout college. Chunky Chips Ahoy, mac 'n cheese pizza, Spotted Cow just to name a few obsessions. (Having no regular access to my favorite beers is the biggest heart breaker of them all.) I hope on my new journey I can break some old habits of picking Netflix over working out, and ordering take out when I have my own food to make. I had my phases of going to one concert a weekend and constantly visiting other colleges near my own. I'm bound to go through different obsessions and phases for the rest of my life. I am ready to get rid of the bad and welcome the new and improved version of myself!
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard and something new that makes saying hello so easy?
