Marchin On

Last summer, at my brother's high school graduation ceremony, I spent some time talking to my neighbor, who has watched me grow up. From advice on choosing a Halloween costume to choosing a college, I've appreciated and respected every conversation. On this particular day, she commented that she could not believe that my brother was going to college, to which I responded that I was envious. "I wish I was just starting college not ending," I sighed. She paused before saying anything, then looked at me. "Are you really, though? Do you actually want to redo all of college?"

By the end of my senior year of high school, I was ready to move on. And so were all of my friends. We were ready to explore our opportunities, meet new and interesting people, and enjoy the pursuit of higher education. I knew that there would be plenty of chances for us to reunite at home base -- breaks, summers, holidays.

Two weeks from today, I will be a college graduate, and not surprisingly, I have mixed feelings. "Intellectually," I'm as ready to move on as I was four years ago. I have taken interesting courses, I have dabbled in research, I have listened to lectures, participated in discussions, given presentations, submitted a thesis. Academically, my undergraduate experience is complete. And I will never feel that I want to "redo" any of this as my neighbor correctly pointed out. It's all the same after a while. The prisoner's dilemma is interesting the first time. And maybe even the second. But once you've discussed it in five courses, it stops being intellectually stimulating. I'm not at all ready to move on "socially," though. To put it bluntly, leave friends behind. Now, the closest thing to a home base is Facebook, and that's not close at all (Yes, I just said it).

I realize, though, that despite what I wish, no matter whether or not I'm ready, regardless of the what-if's and if-only's, it's going to happen. It's not being cynical, it's being realistic. And if we are being realistic, we can't ignore the fact that there is so much ahead, so much to look forward to, even if it doesn't seem ideal at this exact moment. We have no choice but to move on.

Fortunately, we do have control over one thing: The way we spend these next two weeks. Either we can beat the "end-of-college" topic to the ground or we can drink college to the very last lees. I've heard it said that the last couple weeks of college are the best. It's not unbelievable. The academic hurdles that were ever-so-present are now few to non-existent. You are finally able to focus on the part of college that you love -- the people.

After all, we have the rest of our lives to miss this. We don't need to start just yet.