College Reflection

I'm graduating in about four hours! Yes, I am so, so, so ready for this moment, but a tiny, tiny part can't believe this part of my life is over, never to be returned to. College was a bloody hard four years; college was an amazing four years. How do I put my college experience into words? How can I possibly describe these past four years? I'm just going to write what comes to my mind and forget all organization. For that I apologize to my readers. As I reflect on my college years, this is what comes to mind:

• Lists that never end. I'd finish one, and I would immediately start another. I'm queen of lists 
• Constant scheduling. I would plan out every minute of every day between school, homework, projects, work, and sleep. I would always feel guilty if I wasn't doing schoolwork every waking moment since there was always so much to accomplish. It's been so nice to have that extreme guilt gone from body as I've settled into a more "real-life" schedule. 
• Little social life. On average, I worked fifteen to twenty hours a week while taking 18.5 credits a semester which left small chunks of time for a social life. By the end of the week, I would need a break from people and time with my family, plus I worked most every weekend.
• School came first and social life second. Those were my priorities during school. I did make myself take time for a social life 
• I always had something to read or work on as I walked from one class to the next, so I could utilize every moment of my time. I became quite adept at walking and studying.  
• My blissful minutes of writing during, ahem, chapel time. I wrote my life philosophy, my thoughts on the future, my thoughts on the current thoughts running around in my mind, my commentary on the speaker's subject, my thoughts about a guy I was interested in. Oh, I wrote so much in those forty minutes over my college career. I loved that time of my day because it was wonderful to dedicate that time to just writing and clearing my brain of all the thoughts swirling around. 
• Those conversations I had with friends sitting in those chairs metal chairs as we discussed our reactions to the speaker, the latest gossip, or what was heavy on our heart. We had such interesting discussions and reactions. There were people I would sit and talk with more often, but I had great conversations following that time. 
• The constant snacking some semesters as there was no time for a lunch break. I always was hungrier at the beginning of the semester than at the end. I wonder why?
• The fabulous lunches with friends where I usually put school away for those thirty to sixty minutes and held amazing discussions which traveled all over the place. 
• Rushing out of choir or my last class of the day, so I could head to work for the evening. I would think, "This is not how the rest of my life will be like. I hope." 
• Studying at Hallmark and filling Sandy K. in on the latest news. 
• Singing in choir. Singing songs which stretched me musically but those which touched my soul and became a personal declaration. I've learned during in college that I truly do love and adore music. I'm not sure what I would do if it wasn't in my life. 
• My sitting and studying spot changed from year to year. Freshman year it started in Old Main Cafe, and then moved to the second floor hallway couches. Sophomore year, I moved to the library and specifically downstairs in the study cubicles. Junior year, I moved upstairs in the library to the chairs in the atrium area and into the study room and media center areas. Senior year, I found my favorite chair and spot in the library. This specific chair was sitting in front of a window and the chair was in the corner of a large room. Though it was coolish once and awhile, okay most of the time, sitting next to the window, I love that spot.
• I preferred one specific computer lab and that was the LCL. In the LCL, I had a specific computer that I would head to.  
• The size of my classes got smaller and smaller as the years went. Which is probably normal as my classes became less general and focused more on my specific major and minor.

Alas, I have to start getting ready for my graduation, and I must stop writing. Maybe I'll write another post on as I reflect more on college, though I feel like I've done a lot of that this past year :). To end, I'm going to share some music that helped me through this last year of school. I have a strange and eclectic taste. 

"Skyfall" by Adele. We talked about my absolute love of this song. 

"Stronger (What doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson. School didn't kill me; I can now officially say that. 

"Firework" by Katy Perry. I know, I know, but there's a story about a car ride and more.  

"Titanium" by David Guetta. I loved this before Pitch Perfect.

To conclude, I have listened to this song for the past four years, and I've always thought of my graduation when I listened to it. I present "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. 

The next time I will post, I'll be a college graduate. Sorta.