Well, graduation is just on the horizon. In just a few days, I will officially be done with my undergraduate career. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that statement, but what I can say is that the past 4.5 years of my life have been 4.5 of the greatest.
Lately, I've been pretty contemplative and have been reminiscing about the earlier parts of my good ol' college days. I've been reflecting on my life, looking back on how I got to where I am today, and thinking about the people who helped me get here.
How did I end up at this University in the first place? When I was in high school (2008), I attended a summer program for young women who were interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields. Before attending the program, I was interested in mechanical or civil
engineering because I was good at math and science; however, like many high school students, I didn't exactly know
what I wanted to do. One of the subjects covered in the program was vehicular crash safety. Instantly, I was hooked and this is where my passion for crash safety started. Honestly, if I didn't attend the program, I have no idea where I would be.
I have lived my life in 11 week increments for the past 4.5 years. These 11 week terms mean that when it's time for school, it is time for school. We learn so much here in such a small amount of time; as one can imagine, it definitely has the potential of stressing you out...
But what keeps me sane is my awesome support system, which I feel so fortunate to have. Obviously, many of the people in my support system are here with me during school terms. What am I going to miss the most about college? The people. Yes, I'm going to try my best to keep in touch with people (and I hope they do the same), but there's just something different about being in the same general vicinity as them on a daily basis. I won't be able to walk over to the Campus Center to talk to a friend in the Student Life office during the week. I won't be able to go downstairs in the dorms to go sit on another friend's car chair (that is both good for sitting on and taking naps on). I won't be able to attend Asian American Association meetings every Wednesday. I won't be able to head over to the Crash Lab and hang out with co-workers. I won't be able to take a very short stroll down the hallway in the dorms to get a hug from two of my best friends. I won't be able to have sisterhood dinner with my sisters every week in the Great Court.
There is a part of me that just doesn't want to grow up. But of course I'm excited for life beyond college because it won't exactly involve sitting in lectures or staying up until the wee hours of the morning to obtain that one last nugget of knowledge--until I get to grad school that is.
Amongst all of the final exams, papers, and "see-you-later"s, I'm also getting ready to
embark on another worldly adventure. (I'll be blogging about this in the future!) Am I ready? Not quite. But I just have to trust in the fact that everything I have to get done will get done...eventually...just as they always do.
As one can imagine, life is pretty crazy right now. The past week and a half, I've been on the verge of a breakdown due to the stress of school, realizing that another chapter of my life is coming to a close and another one is beginning, having to say see-you-later to some amazing people and an amazing institution, etc. However, I surprisingly have been keeping it together--for now. The tears will come, I'm sure, but I know that part of the reason for those tears is happiness. Happiness for the road on which I am traveling. I feel beyond blessed for the way that God has shaped my life thus far, and I'm extremely thankful for the people He has bought into my life to share in the journey. To all my friends, both near & far, I love you! Thanks for being the wonderful people that you are, and I look forward to writing more chapters with you in this book called Life!
Peace. Love. Happiness.
--TR
