By Patricia Pixler
Student Writer
We’re almost done.
December is an odd time; so many obligations come up at once, whether they are for family, jobs or projects. Oh, the projects.
This December has been particularly interesting as it’s my last December as an undergraduate. I’ve been thinking of what that means a lot recently.
I’m still not sure exactly what it means. It means I will have graduated next semester. It means some of my friends are graduating this semester. I’ve finished my last August, September, October and November as an undergrad. I’ve celebrated my last Thanksgiving as an undergrad. It means I am almost (almost!) done with a particularly long and stressful semester. It means I’m almost done.
Being almost finished with my undergrad is bittersweet. I’m excited for the end to be near and for the future possibilities, but I worry about what is next after graduation. I’m sure we all worry about what is next.
Is it a career? Is it graduate school? Is it slumping back to parents, unsure of what to do next? Is it staying in Alva? Is it moving out to a city? Is it getting married? Is it having children?
The thing about “what is next” is that it can be any of those. Perhaps it is even all of them. We don’t know what path we will follow. There will be graduates who have their entire lives mapped out, color-coded along the way. There will be those stumbling through actions and decisions. There will be those somewhere in the middle, having a vague idea or goal in mind, but winging it along the way. There will be those who are happy to wing it, and those who will be stressed by it. There will be those who are happy to color-code and plan, and those who simply can’t do so.
And it will all be okay.
That’s the thing I’ve been struggling with lately: knowing it will be okay. There was a lot of doubt I could do everything I had planned and wanted to do this semester. There’s a lot of doubt that I can achieve anything after I’ve graduated and left. But this semester proved I can do it. It was a bit of a “If I can survive this, I can survive anything” semester. And here I am: I’m almost done.
We’re almost done.
Maybe you’re graduating. Maybe you have a semester left like I do. Maybe you’re student-teaching in the spring. Maybe you’re just really glad the semester is coming to a close. The point is, we’re one step closer. Not a day, not a month, but an entire semester.
That’s exciting. It’s terrifying, too, but hold onto the exciting. Be proud of yourself. You did it.
No matter what this semester has looked like for you, you have nearly finished it. There are no more worries. There is a month of break to look forward to. A time to not worry about school or to do homework. No tests, no finals.
We’re almost done.