Looking Forward

Well, yesterday I walked across the stage. I moved the tassel from the right to the left side of my frisbee-like cap. I can now be considered a graduate from Gonzaga University. Given, I have yet to officially receive my diploma (it will be mailed in a few weeks) and I will be paying for my education years and years from now, it still feels good to be done.

To be honest, I have not yet felt the emotions that I was expecting of myself. I guess the reality of it all has yet to set in. There are many friends that I will miss, and it will be weird to not be considered a student anymore; but I don't really feel sad. I think this is because I have realized something. The friends that are true and have resonance in my life will not just disappear because I have graduated and we are moving in different directions. I know that time and distance will not change those friendships that have become the most important to me. "Goodbye" at this point is not final, it is merely a "see ya later."

Even for those people that I may never see again in my life, I can't really feel sad. Life is quick and fast paced, and sometimes people only cross each others' paths for moments at a time. God places people directly, and if it is only for a blink - that's okay. I know I have been changed by each and every person I have come across in the past four years. Though I don't know how many I will still be in touch with after four more years, I do know that I am a better person for the life I have experienced within this community. Now I am ready to move forward with it and grow in a different light.