We need to talk

Dear IDS readers,

There’s no easy way to say this, but I think we should see other people. It’s not you. Well, it’s not me either. I’m perfect, after all.

We’re just in different places right now. I’m two weeks away from completing my undergraduate career, and you’re an abstract personification in an increasingly half-assed opinion column.  

Don’t cry. This is hard for me too. I find myself in an increasingly maudlin mood, and not solely because I am once again out of gin.

Senioritis, it seems, follows the Kubler-Ross model, in which depression and acceptance accompany the onset of the terminal stage. These emotions tend to manifest in the realization that this is the “last” of a particular event.

You’ll be happy to know I’m not suffering too much, though. The optimistic reader might assume this is because graduating from IU doesn’t just represent a series of “lasts” but a vast slew of potential “firsts.”

You know, that kind of fortune cookie bollocks about how when Fate closes a door, it opens a window, like Fate locked its keys in the house again. If that’s comforting, great. Personally, I find it entirely too trite. Fortunately, I’m anesthetized by the overwhelming apathy that accompanies senioritis.

That said, I’d be lying shamelessly if I told you I wasn’t really excited for whatever happens next.

I still don’t have all the inconsequential details ironed out, trivial stuff like what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be living.

I’m not too worried, though. I’ll tell you why, since I feel obliged to offer some semblance of parting wisdom. Work hard. Explore everything. Take classes on whims. Listen to professors and your fellow students. Expand your horizons.

The unexamined life is not worth living, and this campus represents one massive opportunity for self-improvement through education. It’s not always easy, but if you make it, you can be secure in the knowledge that you haven’t received an education — you’ve earned it.

I graduate knowing that IU has taught me skills I’ll continue to use for the rest of my life, and I find a shocking amount of confidence in this. Furthermore, I’ve learned a lot writing for this paper.

I hope I’ve mostly done my job, offering coherent opinions and not being too dull while doing it. It was fun while it lasted, and I wish almost all of you the very best.

Stay classy,

Stefan

­— stefsoko@indiana.edu