Stepping on campus my freshman year for what felt like “camp Wittenberg,” or the orientation days, had a distinctive feel. There was an atmosphere of nervousness over what was to come: hopeful successes and possible failures but more importantly, excitement for the unknown. Part of me expected senior year to feel similar and that assumption was right, partly, but has not been what I expected either.
I wish everyone understood that by the time your undergraduate career comes to a close, so many things come into perspective. Grades matter, but so do the memories you make with your friends: late nights (or all-nighters), sacrificing your waistline for another Paddy’s or Badabing pizza, dodging crows walking home from class, and the nasty smelling (but beautiful) dogwood trees, among others. Instead of stressing over choosing a major or whether or not to write an honors thesis, seniors worry about their career. Thing is, for a while that will be up in the air; jobs will change, lifestyles will change, friends will change, everything is going to change and that’s scary. The anxieties of the impending unknown forces us to rediscover the feeling we all had during our orientation, and suddenly seniors find themselves cherishing those final moments with one another.
It makes me wonder how our time would have been if we treated every day at Wittenberg like our last day? Senior year hasn’t been what I expected…it’s been better in the worst and best ways. While I’m sad to leave it’s time to move on for all of us and find where and how we will make our mark on the world.
