I’m Mourning The End Of My Collegiate Career
Please pass the cheese platter, cause I’m coming at ya with a whole lot of w(h)ine. I probably sound as annoying as a preteen girl who isn’t allowed to get those glitter UGGS that she has been DYING to have, but hear me out on this quarter-life crisis.
I am on the cusp of my senior year of college, and as much as I feel like my life is just beginning, it seems to feel more and more like a scene from Independence Day. Anyways, as I prepare myself for my final year of school, countless people have asked what I plan to do post-graduation. My heart is telling me to sob in a corner since college will be over, but that’s not pc, so I better find an alternative! This is a question that I have been pondering for awhile, and I think I’m getting closer and closer to the answer, or at least what I think the answer is.
Before I reveal my answer, I’ll run through some reasons why I am mourning the end of college:
- Convenience: When else are you going to be surrounded by your best friends and worst enemies all at the same time? Running into a familiar face wherever you go may seem more like a curse some days, but generally it makes for a great time.
- Rock bottom is not “he-who-shall-not-be-named” status. It’s proclaimed loud and somewhat proud. As long as you can get it together when it counts, this idea of rock bottom is harmless. Example: “I just wasted 5 hours in the café and ate 10 cookies. Rock bottom amiright?”
- Having $2 and no more in your checking account at is a common thing. In fact, if your bank account doesn’t look like this, you’re probably doing it wrong (obviously you’re doing it right, but are you having fun?! DOUBT IT)
- Eating a slice of pizza at 2am is a religious experience. I think the term “No regrets, just love” was created for this moment.
- The hunt for free food is REAL. So real that I would compare it to the Amazing Race, and you come out victorious EVERY SINGLE TIME. Receptions, clubs, and meetings are always bribing students with free food, so naturally why make ramen when you can eat catered food frequently.
- Boxed wine is not a choice, it’s a ~lifestyle~.
- You’ll learn to appreciate your family more than you ever thought you ever would (At least I did).
- Sitting around unpacking last night’s events over brunch MUST be done before an ounce of homework can be completed.
- The unpaid intern life is one of the biggest walks of solidarity.
- Dropping everything in order to freak out over the relevancy of an article you read online.
- Blasting “Anything Can Happen” and fEeLinG iNfIniTe.
- Commiserating with your classmates about a school project that nearly drains the life out of each student. Like how dare academia interfere with my social life?! We are paying $50k to have fun right?…Yes…No…Mom…Dad…Bueller.
- Having a quarter-life crisis more than once in a 7 day span.
After looking through this somewhat serious/pathetic list of college normalcies, I can’t help but realize that there was a common theme throughout. All of these occurrences would not be what they are, had the people I loved not be a part of them. I definitely would not have been able to laugh off a temporary $2 bank account situation alone, and commiserating with my fellow broke college friends made it somewhat bearable. Coming home after a stressful presentation wouldn’t be complete without a friend to share it with. Laughing until the point of tears would not have been possible alone because in that case, I would have been laughing non-stop at myself. Although I like to think I’m funny, I don’t think I’m THAT funny…
Learning to build a family away from home is one of the biggest challenges that college holds. Whereas it may be easy to shy away from the unknown and sit inside watching Netflix (nothing wrong with this sometimes), your favorite TV show won’t bring you a pint of Ben and Jerry’s after a break-up. Relying on the people that have been there through the ugliest and most beautiful moments are what make college friends, family.
Now, back to the question, “So, what do you want to do after college?” Although I may not know what my ideal job is, I definitely know what I want in terms of my own happiness. No matter where I go in life, I want to be surrounded by people who love and support me. Earning a gigantic paycheck is certainly awesome, but at the end of the day, (cliché warning), I want people whom I can share the pains and joys of life with. I want to be completely serious one second, and then embarrassingly dancing to “Dancing on My Own” the next second. College has offered me this amazing reality. The main reason that I get nauseous upon thinking of post-grad life is due to the lack of convenience. My friends won’t all be in the same city anymore, and that is going to be an adjustment that I have been preparing myself for. If you close your eyes and imagine the most beautiful place on earth, would you want to be there alone? I certainly wouldn’t. I want to use this article as a thank you to all of the college friends that have turned into the protective dads, the nurturing mothers, and the annoying yet absolutely lovable siblings.
Cheers to you all.