College has, so far, been the best time of my life. It has taught me a lot, and I've loved every minute of it. My life has changed so much since the day I first moved on campus, when I first arrived I felt like I had all the time in the world, but graduation is right around the corner now. One more semester is all the time that is left to my college career, about 15 weeks, scary, but thrilling at the same time. As I get closer to walking across that stage in the spring, the more I'm realizing that I'm ready to be done.
Because I went to a community college before this one, I thought I would know how it feels to be a senior. I already graduated once, that's my mom I'm hugging on stage in the cover photo. It was taken after she gave me my diploma. But this time it's not what I expected and I never thought I would be where I am today, I'm surprised by how much I've grown since that photo was taken.
The cool thing about college is that it doesn't just teach you things about your major, it also teaches you what kind of person you want to be; what kind of life you want to live. Having gone to two schools in the past five years, I've seen a lot of people and had a lot of teachers. I sat through classes taught by perky, excited professor who live by what they preach, and I've had teachers who want to be out of the classroom faster than you do. I've had five jobs during my college career that helped me see what kind of things I like doing and what things I'm not very good at. I've definitely learned more than just writing styles and grammar.
At this point I'm over going to the bars every night, I feel like I'm too old for parties and most of my friends graduated already. I'd rather sit on the couch and catch up on homework on a Friday night with my favorite movie playing, and I'm content with that. I don't think this makes me boring, I think it's just a part of growing up and realizing there's more to life than dressing up on a Thursday night and blowing all my money at the bar.
I can't wait to move out of this college town, have a real job and start my life. In my mind, graduation is sort of a deadline, it marks the time by when I really need to grow up. This is my opportunity to leave the nest for real, this is the time of my life I've been waiting for.
It's taken me a long time to figure out what I want to do with my life, but after changing my major more times than the average gal, I think I know what I really want to do. I might not have all the pieces together quite yet, but just the ideas and goals for my life after college are enough to give me confidence and ambition I need to live my dreams. I'm now realizing that life really is what you make it, so I want to make it great.
Even though I'm ready to move on with my life I'm still going to miss the lifestyle, friends and opportunities that college has given me. I've already accomplished things I never thought were possible, and I've changed for the better. Life is going to be weird when I don't wake up in a house full of friends or have that special student discount on everything, but I'm ready for the change; I'm ready to really start my life.
