Graduation

Whoever said high school is the best four years of your life clearly never went to college.

It's been two weeks since the graduation ceremony but I had two semi time-sensitive posts before this one so you get it now.  Grades came in a few days after the ceremony which confirmed that I did indeed graduate, so that's good. 

When I started school at Colorado State University four years ago, I had no idea what was in store.  I didn't know I would make a whole new set of friends, study abroad and travel around Europe, get to know and love a city, and learn a little bit of academics along the way.

It hasn't quite hit yet that I never have to go to school again.  Part of that is incredibly exciting but the other part is a bit terrifying.  Up until this point, there was always a plan for what was next.  Now, it is all up to me. 

I was reading some other blogs about graduation and this piece written by Veronica Grandex pretty  much sums it up:

"What you weren’t prepared for was this unshakable feeling that you don’t belong anywhere. At some point in the past four years...this place became your home. Not just because you live here, but because every corner of campus has a different memory attached to it. Because you don’t have to look at the menus of your favorite breakfast spots...Because you know which cafeteria lady won’t charge you for guacamole. But mostly because the people here –the faces you see every day– make you feel absolutely at peace. And you’re just now realizing that when you cross that graduation stage, you’re not just leaving your home. It ceases to exist.

The people you know are leaving. Your friends. Your roommates. The acquaintances you are stoked to see at the bar...The familiar faces of random people on the way to class. Everyone who made this place home. They won’t be here anymore. The storefronts will change. New restaurants will open. New buildings will go up. And a fresh new batch of students will arrive. Your home is constantly changing. You can never go back to it, just as it was.

Your friends will move to different places. Some will move back home. Some will move to new and exciting cities. Some will be just an hour away. Some will be a flight away. Some will be close enough for regular happy hours and nights out. But you know for certain that it will never be the same. You’ll never all live in the same place again. For the rest of your life, you’ll have to travel further than across the hall to see the people you call family. You’ll have get togethers, and brunches, and weekend getaways, but you can never go back 'home.' And that leaves you feeling…kind of homeless."

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While I was in Portland last week, I had an interview for a new climbing gym that's opening beginning of Fall.  I'm really hoping I get the job because I don't really have a plan B at this point.  I think offers are supposed to begin mid June.

I was originally going to stay in Fort Collins for the summer but don't feel like I'm supposed to be here anymore.  I don't really like walking around town/campus anymore because it brings up so many memories of people and good times.  Because of this and a few other things,  I'm headed back to Portland the second week of June.

That's all for now.  Bye.