My internet presence has been surprisingly minimal over the last few weeks. After successfully moving back to North Carolina, wrapping up the majority of my preparation for the Law School Admissions Test, and prepping for an atypical senior year of college, life’s pace has accelerated from slow to lightning-fast. Amidst catching up with friends and stocking my fridge, I noticed that today marks my last first day of my undergraduate education.
I try not to get too sentimental, but I can’t help but think back to my senior year of high school. Around the same time four years ago, I was preparing to apply to college, totally unsure of where I wanted to go or the career I wanted to pursue. I hated that I didn’t work hard enough in high school and felt like my options for college were limited. I simultaneously felt a deep sense of shame for not being able to discipline myself to consider my future. As I type out this post, I’m overcome with a profound feeling of gratitude for Wake Forest University, who took a chance on a young woman that barely had the grades to even consider applying to the school and had little to show for in terms of high school achievements.
Once I was admitted, I began to look forward to the first day of classes, a phenomenon that I was experiencing for the first time. Every August, I still get that butterfly sensation in my stomach as I climb in my car and start the drive to Winston-Salem. So as I prepare for my final class on my last first day of undergrad, I think back to my high school self, who let go of those feelings of shame and anger as I stepped onto campus for the first time. Who, since that first first day, has blossomed into an entirely different student, friend, daughter, sister, and woman. Cheers to this milestone (no matter how small it may be) and those to come.
