Dear seniors,
As our last semester comes to a close in just a few weeks, we should all be feeling lots of emotions. We should be excited, proud of ourselves, eager, hopeful, maybe a little sad, but one thing we should not be feeling is afraid. I'm sure we all have been asked multiple times over the past few months the dreaded question, "What are your plans for after college?" Which we respond to with the short answer, "I don't know" and then quickly change the subject before they try to pry anymore.
It is the question that has been circling around our heads the moment we went from juniors to seniors. The question that has caused us to lie awake at night, because we fear that we are the only ones who have no idea what they are going to do after walking across that stage at graduation. That we are going to be "that person" that ends up back home and working at the local McDonald's for the rest of their life. The question that has put so much negativity towards leaving the college that has become our second home, because of our fear for the future.
I think it is about time that we set something straight. It is OK to be unsure of your future. It is OK to not have a job lined up for you straight out of college. It is OK to be questioning whether you want to change your career path from one that you thought for sure would be it for the past four years. It is OK to move back home for a few months in order to get on your feet. It is OK to enjoy your last few weeks of college and not focus on the dreaded question, "What am I going to do after this is over?"
We have spent at least the last 16 years of our lives preparing ourselves for this moment. We have spent thousands of dollars on coffee, lost hundreds of hours of sleep, and turned down countless opportunities to go out with friends to get us here. We have put so much work into getting ourselves to that graduation stage, and we deserve to have some fun now.
These are the last few weeks before we step out into the real world and become actual adults. These are the last few weeks that we can binge-watch shows on Netflix, go out for drinks on a Tuesday afternoon because we feel like it, the last time we can hit snooze and ignore the responsibilities that lie ahead that day. These are the last few weeks we will all be together with some of our closest friends at the same time, so let's enjoy it!
Spend more time with those close to you and make more memories that will last a lifetime, because these are the days you will never forget. Go out and do that crazy thing you always wanted to do, whether it's skipping class and going to the bar, or jumping in your school fountain. If you don't do it now, you probably never will. Better yet, make a bucket list of all the foolish things you want to get done in the next few weeks and hold yourself to it. Even have your whole friend group do it; just make sure you document every part of it!
We have the rest of our lives to worry about money, job searching, where we are going to live, and our future. We only have a limited amount of weeks left to be carefree college kids. This is our time. So, in the next few weeks if your parent, relative, or friend asks you what you are going to do after college: reply, "I don't know, but for now I am going to enjoy the rest of the time I have left as a student with some of my best friends."
Now go out and celebrate the time you have left!
Sincerely,
A fellow classmate
