About a month ago, I started my last semester of college--what?!?! Wasn't I a freshman like a month and a half ago? Time flies...
Looking back on my college career, I'm really quite happy with how much I've grown to get where I am right now in my life. I still don't have a for-sure job or a place to live yet, but recently I've learned to trust that good things will happen if you let them. I'm working hard, but I'm not nearly as stressed as I was when I wrote my last blog post a month ago.
I truly believe this last semester will be the best yet. I'm taking four classes, all of which I'm really enjoying. I'm finally in clubs that are more fun than burdensome. I'm singing and speaking Chinese and doing a lot of the things I should have been doing since the day I first stepped foot on this campus. I know what I want to do for my career. I'm more open about who I am and I'm more accepting of who other people are.
I think I've come a long way since the beginning of freshman year, but there are still a few things I want to accomplish before saying goodbye to the place I've called home for four years. Here's an abridged list of things I want to do before I graduate:
1. Eat at different restaurants. There are some restaurants I've discovered that are AMAZING and I keep going back to them, but I would like to branch out a little more. There's one restaurant in particular that people have been telling me to go to for years and I've never managed to make it there. This semester, I'll make it happen.
2. Mix up my "party scene." From the time I turned 21, I got to know most of the bars in the nearest vicinity (even though I don't drink), but I'd like to extend my reach a bit more and check out some of the other areas of the city. It'll be fun to explore some new atmospheres and meet some new people!
3. Land a job in my preferred field. This one is more for my post-grad days, but it's still in the forefront of my mind. That being said, although I have a great job right now, I want something that will challenge me to think in new ways. (I love consumer insights research and strategic planning, so if you now anyone who's hiring, let me know, will ya?)
4. Eat in all the dining halls one last time. Yes, a lot of the things I want to do before I graduate involve food. The dining halls represent much more than their less-than-exquisite cuisines, though. I met wonderful people in those places. I built friendships in those places. I flirted in those places. I embarrassed myself in those places (see what I did there?). I need one last hurrah in the dining halls before I can say goodbye.
5. Utilize more resources on campus. There are a lot of great groups that I've known about for awhile, but never really got involved with. I'd like to change that. I've found the more people I meet, the more I fall in love with this school and this city. The more stories I hear, the more proud I am of my own story as part of a larger one.
I want to leave this campus in love. In love with the people, in love with the places, in love with the little things and the silly memories. I want to leave loving who I was, who I am, and who I will be. I am so lucky to have received a fantastic education, but I am even more lucky to have learned how to really love. That love is one thing I will take with me wherever I go.
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