(I'm smack dab in the middle looking super stoked to throw my hat in the air, obviously graduation was a somber event heehee)
I have been a college graduate for six days. Like I predicted, the world is still spinning and everything is okay. Saying goodbye to all of my friends resulted in a lot of tears (which was particularly embarrassing when I said goodbye to The Boys at a movie theatre and then walked through downtown with tears streaming down my face). I packed my life into five suitcases and picked up to come home before heading off to Yellowstone. I'm in Arizona for another week and then it's off to Montana/Wyoming to start my next great adventure! And once again, I am feeling anxious and terrified. There are certain points in the summer I am looking forward to with so much excitement I can hardly contain myself (Oregon Country Fair with Megan and The Boys; Megan, Lauren, and potentially some other girl friends coming to Yellowstone to visit) and others that make me sweat ever time I think about them (moving to a new location not knowing a single soul or what to expect; my new job; dorm life AGAIN!). I know I am in for the most amazing summer of my life, but it is still very strange that I won't be returning to academia in August. I keep having the realization that I am a real grown up adult with a degree. I am so blessed to have this education, but I still feel so naive and like I am not the grown up everyone seems to see me as.
The days I have spent at home have been filled with lots of pondering about post-Yellowstone plans. I would love to just forgo any responsibility and buy a van and travel the country. If anyone would like to be my benefactor and make that happen, I accept checks and all major credit cards. (Just kidding, Mom. Well... kind of.) Other than that, my mind has been jumping around for potential ideas. I know something will come along, and it will be easy to stick with the company I'm working for this summer, but I would love to find myself in a location close enough to visit the friends I have made over the past four years. Many of them are in Portland, or are planning on moving there soonish. While I don't see myself moving back to the rainy Pacific Northwest any time soon, the thought still bumps around my head. I guess the most stressful, odd thing is being in this transitionary state with absolutely nothing tying me down. It's a freeing thought, but it's also scary. Really, only time will tell where life goes, and as cliche as it is, the phrase has become a comforting mantra.
I still don't feel like the grownup everyone seems to see me as. Relax. Find the comfort of your own skin and sink into it. Also, the most important advice I can give you: take all the risks that seem interesting (and a few that don't). I say this because you are young and single and the world is waiting for you to reach out and grab it. Once you lose your singularity, all else becomes another item on the list to be checked off at a later date. Adventures are out there, don't be afraid of them.
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