T-Minus One Month

I’m in a state of denial about the fact that I only have one more month at Miami.

I recognize that this has been a common theme for me this semester, this unofficial countdown of sorts, but my anticipation of what comes next keeps growing, and I keep questioning whether or not I’m ready for the next step. I mean, I know I’m ready, but the question is more of whether or not I’m ready to start over with the unknown.

Photo I took of flowers outside of
Bachelor Hall on campus.

The past four years have (as cliché as it is) truly flown by, and despite my insistence at certain points that I could not wait to graduate, now I’m feeling sad that I have to leave this place that I’ve learned to call home.

In a month, I’ll move away from my friends who have become my rocks over the past few years, and we’ll be scattered around the country. It’s going to be weird not having all of my friends within a one-mile radius (even though that’s probably more normal than living in this tiny bubble in which we currently live).

In one of my classes I sit next to a first year, and on the other side of her is another senior. Yesterday in class, the other senior and I were commiserating with each other about how little time we have left on campus. I turned to the first year girl in between us and told her to make the most of her experiences on Miami’s campus.

While overwhelmingly there isn’t much I would change about my experiences here, there are small things that I wish I would have done, and there are classes I wish I would have taken.

First and foremost, I wish I would have been more willing to take risks. And for me, a risk my first year at Miami would have been actually going through the random roommate process. I ended up using one of Miami’s roommate finding services, and while I still lived with a virtual stranger, I picked who I lived with. And while there was nothing wrong with that choice, I wish that I had gone through the random process. I feel as though I missed out on a somewhat essential college experience.

During my first year here, I also wish I would have joined more student organizations. Miami has so many different organizations on campus, and I wish I would have gotten more involved – I think it would have enhanced my experiences here, and would have given me a better start.

While I can’t go back and change my experiences at Miami (and that said, I wouldn’t trade my experiences for the world), I can take what I learned and use this knowledge as I walk out into the “real world.” While the “real world” offers a whole different set of issues and experiences, I'm ready for them.