I have never been especially good at goodbyes – friends moving away to non-neighboring states, being finished with a class taught by a favorite teacher or professor, the end of a semester, or leaving places behind, either for the short-term or forever. Let’s just say that I’ve had some rough moments driving away from friends’ apartments and leaving internships.
But once the goodbye is over, I’m ready for the next chapter and can’t wait to see what’s next.
So, why am I thinking of this now? Well, one of the major benefits of having a full-time job in my hometown is that I’ve been around for every one of the milestones in my sister’s senior year of high school — orchestra concerts, piano recitals, awards nights, and graduation in a few days. It has been so weird, sitting in my high school’s auditorium for various events (and just listening to her talk), realizing that things like orchestra concerts, AP tests, and high school dances are five years in my past.
Five years ago, I had no idea what lay ahead of me. All I knew was that I was leaving my suburban high school and going off to a big state university, with tons of opportunities and endless people to meet. Even though I was a little nervous (a university of 30,000+ undergrads, and I only know some from high school!), I was so excited, and ended up having an amazing four years at Mizzou.
Those four years simultaneously flew past and crawled. Sometimes, it seemed like my freshman year had been so long ago. But at other times, it felt like freshman year was just yesterday, and that there was no way that I could be qualified to graduate with an engineering degree. Over the course of four years, I joined plenty of extracurricular organizations, acquired more engineering knowledge than I could have imagined possible, reveled in four years of Division I athletics, and made friends that I hope to keep throughout my life.
A little over a year ago, as my senior year wound down and graduation drew closer, I couldn’t believe that it was at an end. Even though the goodbyes were rough (as my friends moved off to Kansas City, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and DC), I knew that the next chapter of life would be worth the momentary heartache. And it has been.
As of last weekend, I have been a college graduate for a year. Even crazier is that in mid-June, I will have been a full-time engineer for an entire year. I still have so much to learn, but I know that I have made a lot of progress. For the first time in my life, I am beginning to pick and choose my opportunities — I don’t have to do everything right now, and I only need to pursue my true passions. I’m starting to have more Kate time and less “extracurricular” time, which is doing wonders for my emotional health.
And right now, there aren’t any major goodbyes or looming changes in the near future, no new places to move to (well, sort of), and I am planning to be in my current position at work for awhile. And I am okay with all of that, because I am perfectly happy where I am. 🙂
Kate