I think I’m in a minority of graduating seniors. I’ve heard one too many people say they don’t want to graduate, that they want to stay at LSU as long as they can. Personally, I can’t wait to get out of here. May 23 can’t come fast enough for several reasons.
One reason began at the end of last semester. I wanted to be editor of this paper, but the powers that be i.e. the Media Board did not feel that same way. Lesson learned — things don’t always work out like you plan. It left me in a tough situation. Do I go away and get an internship elsewhere (seeing as I only needed a mass communication elective to graduate) or do I suck it up, put my pride aside and devote as much time and energy to the newspaper as I had planned?
Obviously, I chose the latter and not for one second have I regretted it. It’s interesting because I think had I left the University in December, I always would have felt as if my time in college was cut short. I would have looked back and wished I could go back and spend some time here again. I don’t think I’ll ever feel that way.
Even though I didn’t become editor, other positives began happening. I had the opportunity to be a part of Leadership LSU. It’s a diverse group of 25 student leaders representing a cross-section of campus. They’re some of the most amazing people I have come in contact with during my time here. This experience, coupled with my role at The Reveille, made my semester fulfilling. I learned about local and state issues our community faces. I began building knowledge about Louisiana’s problems and ways to help the world outside our LSU microcosm.
I used this last semester to transition into the life existing after graduation. After all, the actual walking-across-stage graduation is a formality. The real letting go comes days and months before. It comes during the many, mini realizations while eating at Mr. Gatti’s pizza buffet or walking out of my last sorority meeting. Graduation is not an event; it’s a process of changing and moving from one phase of your life to the next. I’m in the transition phase. I feel far gone from being in college but not quite in the real world (because I’m still unemployed). I’m in limbo, jumping and smiling one day and crying and whining the next. It’s a time when I’m itching to do something more, but I’m held back by the final days of the semester.
Being here during this spring semester is one of the best decisions I made during college. I’m so sure I need to leave LSU, more sure of this than most things in my life right now. I’ll miss my friends, professors and advisers who have mentored and helped me grow. I’ll miss the little things, such as windy days on the Parade Ground and a drink at The Chimes with a friend. But the truth is, I’ve made the most out of this University experience. I didn’t just go to class, go to work and then go home. I stepped outside my comfort zone, and I’ve done everything I wanted to do that was in my power to achieve. I’m proud of that, and it makes me more confident in my decision about moving on.
So, I thank the people who have given me a chance to be here and the people who have helped me along the way. I can’t stand to be around the people who say college is the best years of your life. Those people miss the here and now, wherever they are in their lives. I refuse to be like that. I’ll look back fondly on my time here, but I’m facing forward because I know the best is yet to come. Carpe Diem.