After final exams, I will be halfway through my senior year of college.
As I plan the next two weeks filled with 10-page papers, exams and the like, I realize I have no idea what life after graduation will entail.
I have no plan, no job waiting for me at the finish line at the moment.
While this is all good and terrifying, there is something liberating about not knowing what comes next.
That means the possibilities are limitless.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty terrified of post-graduation life.
The bubble that I live in will pop and going out for $2 Tuesday will no longer be an acceptable pastime in the real world.
Instead of living in a constant state of anxiety about it all, I have decided to make the rest of my time at IU as spectacular and as worry-free as possible.
I’m not saying I plan to abandon my studies and just go out partying all the time.
But I am saying I want to make every moment count and to relish fully those moments.
This is the beginning of the end. But I’m not done living in this chapter of my life yet.
I want to jump off the quarry rooftop with my friends, and I want to Instagram afterward.
Pics or it didn’t happen, right?
I want to go to the Media School Speaker Series and soak up as much as I can from these talented journalists.
And I never want to stop learning.
I want to challenge myself, but I also want to make time for myself.
Practicing self-care is something I don’t ever want to put on the backburner.
I want to stake out every campus event that involves free pizza.
I mean, let’s be honest, the chances of getting free pizza become pretty slim post-graduation.
That’s not something I’m not ready to give up just yet.
College is the time for us to learn, and I love every moment of it.
But we spend so much of our time stressed out, sleep-deprived and caffeine-filled.
While this is our time to discover our abilities, it’s also about having fun and not worrying too much about what is out of our control.
Truthfully, I don’t exactly know what I want to do with my life because I could see myself doing so many different things and being perfectly happy.
I don’t even know if I want to continue writing columns for the Indiana Daily Student next semester.
I’ve been at it for almost two years, and it’s been such a phenomenal experience.
But who knows? Maybe I want to try something new.
All I know for certain is that I haven’t finished learning about myself yet.
And what better time to do it than now?
nrowthor@indiana.edu
@nrowthornIU
