Home Alone

Welp. It's officially Thanksgiving.

That means it's time for everyone to post on Facebook and Twitter exactly who and what they're thankful for. Most are thankful for their family, friends, and loved ones alike. Some are thankful for things like their education, their rights as an American, or for their recent good luck. The one thing we should all be thankful for that often gets overlooked is our health. I'm lucky to be a healthy 20 year old kid. I realize there are some kids who will never get to experience life the way I have, and as cliche as it sounds, I really am thankful for it.

I didn't write this post to blather about thanks, though.

I wrote it because as I lay on the couch in my apartment at school I can't help but feel overwhelmed. Not overwhelmed in a negative "behind in school" way, but rather I feel overwhelmed by how fast my life is moving.

So often I say how ready I am to graduate and move on, but laying on this couch without any of my friends home I realize that's a bold faced lie. I take it for granted that one of my best friends since 6th grade sleeps in the room right next to me. I take it for granted that another of my best friends lives right upstairs. And I take it for granted that I get to see the best friends I made at college every day in class. I'm so caught up in hating classes that I forget to love all the good stuff.

Next April my friends and I will graduate from college. The scariest part about that is not knowing where we'll all be after graduation. Some will head for grad school wherever they can get accepted and others are going to take jobs. We don't know where those schools or jobs will be or when we'll see each other next. One of the last memories we'll have where we're all together is our graduation.

I imagine getting your diploma handed to you is one of the more bittersweet feelings. It's proof to the world and yourself that you succeeded and made it through "the best four years of your life," but it's also a stark reminder that life does go on. It's a piece of paper that's meant to commend you for your good work while simultaneously telling you to go get a job.

I don't think I'll ever fully be ready for my friends and I going our separate ways. And while I might not ever be ready for it, I am already very aware that it has to happen.

It has to happen because if we all mulled around here for our whole lives we'd probably stagnate. I don't want that. I want my friends to go out and make a name for themselves. I want to visit them, i want to call them and reminisce, and I want to meet their families when they have them. And I can only hope they want the same for me.

This was all over the place. Just like the good old days.

Til next time, everybody. Enjoy your Thanksgiving and be sure to overeat.

NP: Youth- Daughter