For anyone that has followed my writing the last few months, I think it’s pretty clear that there has been a theme revolving around fear of the future. This time though, I want to focus on a different aspect of the future- the excitement. I have been so focused on all of the scary unknowns that I lost sight of the fact that the future was something that I was supposed to be excited about, and not something to solely fear. If I am going to live the life I want, I can’t stay stuck in this phase. Instead, I need to encourage the excitement that is beginning to emerge.

The last time I experienced a massive change, it was the transition from high school to college. In retrospect, it seems ridiculous to have been so fearful. Everything worked out really well. But when I was experiencing this change, I was consumed with fear of the unknown. Yet here I am, a few years later and perfectly content with all of the changes that my life has gone through. I think life is all about learning through experiences, and more than anything I have learned that a great deal of good can come from change. The change after college will probably be the biggest unknown I will have faced to date, but it also has the potential to be full of the most amazing changes.

So instead of fearing all of the things that could go wrong, instead I am choosing to look forward to the positive changes to my life. Some of these positives are small things like no more homework and no more all-nighters studying. But some of the positives are the bigger things I can look forward to; things like possibly getting a job I’m actually excited about, or moving to a new city and away from the place I have always lived, or having the freedom to travel after graduation, or expanding my friend group to people I don't even know exist right now. There are so many options that are beginning to present themselves to me, and instead of fearing this, I am bubbling with excitement.

Up until this point in my life, everything has been mapped out to some extent or another. There was a nice road map laid out for me with clear signs for school, college, and then finding an acceptable job. After this May though, it will be an open slate. I can do whatever I want with my life. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I had to attend college, and I do believe that it will shape the rest of my life. But I am excited to finally explore the opportunities that I have been waiting for. We always dream of the amazing things that we will do with our lives, and I am now on the verge of making those things happen. I can do whatever I want after graduation, and that is something that I have been craving for years.

My “real life” starts in about six months. In six months, I will be thrown out into the real world, and although fearful, I am also excited. I am finally on the verge of breaking away from the expectations of others- and myself-and that is thrilling. I don’t think that I will figure things out right away, but I’m making plans. Although plans aren’t foolproof, they help make the future less frightening. I think I will always be scared of what's to come, but right now I am starting to realize that there are many things to be excited about, too.