Au revoir, IU!

I’ve been a columnist since the fall semester of 2005, my very first semester at IU. Since then, I’ve been an ardent opponent of what the IDS opinion editors like to refer to as “the diary column.”

You know the column. “Here’s what Christmas means to me,” or, “My finals schedule is so hard, I’m going to write a column about it.”

Considering that it’s my seventh and final semester at IU and that this is my final column in the IDS, I think I’ll allow myself one diary column.

It’s difficult to sum up my feelings in 500 words. It’s hard to say goodbye to a university, a town and a newspaper that all played integral roles in the most formative three and a half years of my life.

I’ll be completely honest: I didn’t want to go to school here at first. My top choice school was on the East Coast, and even though I worked hard to be accepted there, my parents decided they didn’t want me to be far from our home in suburban Chicago. I begrudgingly obliged to become a Hoosier.

Eventually, the place began to grow on me. In between complaining about one-way streets and overpriced ethnic restaurants, I managed to find a place in my heart for IU and B-town.

It’s often said our generation is one of the most self-absorbed, ungrateful and narcissistic. We often fail to stop and realize how lucky we really are. I’m grateful that I had the chance to walk on this beautiful campus, to live in this quirky little town and to be taught by some of the most brilliant men and women I’ve ever met.

At the IDS, I found my niche. Within three weeks, I was hired in the newsroom as a columnist and by the advertising department. I developed professional skills; I made friends, and I learned more about people and about myself. My stint as one of the two opinion page editors taught me patience, how to work with others and how to accept both criticism and praise with dignity.

For those of you who aren’t graduating, I know you hear it all the time, but do make the most of your experience here. Four years seems like a long time, but it really does go by faster than you would like.

I’ve been entirely unprepared for all the memories that are now weighing down upon me. It’s not just the cliche sappy memories; I think of all the little details of undergrad life: freshman year C-Store runs, waiting until the last minute to do every paper and assignment even though I always promised myself I’d stop, staying awake until 4 a.m. and sleeping until noon and all the other bad habits I’m sure I’ll have to kick before I start law school in the fall.

I guess I would just like to say goodbye. Goodbye IU, goodbye Bloomington and goodbye IDS. Thank you for the ups and downs, thank you for making me who I am.