I recently found out that I will be graduating a semester earlier than I initially planned... Which wouldn't seem quite so crazy had I not already been planning on graduating a year early. When I received the email from my student services adviser, I went through quite a few different emotions.
1. Shock
I was shocked when my SSA told me I would be graduating in Fall 2017. I had been emailing her about signing up for an extra class (because I'd only been registered for three-- I'm not that much of an overachiever) and suddenly she told me about my new graduation date! In all honesty, I just kind of sat there and stared at my laptop screen with my jaw to the floor for a good five minutes. I couldn't believe the words I was reading, but sure enough, I will be graduating a little over a year from now *enter panic mode*
2. Panic
Sometimes I forget to feed myself. I have to tell my roommates to remind me to do my laundry and take a shower. I am not equipped to adult alone! When I read the date "Fall 2017," I went into panic mode. Where will I live? What am I going to do with my life? Who is going to hire a 20-year-old for anything more than an office job? These are the questions that have been running through my head ever since I got the email that spun my head around.
3. "Oh my gosh, this is happening"
Okay, not really an emotion, but it's the next phase in my eventual acceptance of early graduation. I wanted to be excited, but I was still slightly panicked at what the future might hold. All I could do was tell my friends, try to figure out the next step, and breathe.
4. Excitement?
There is much need for the question mark paired with "excitement." Should I be excited? Absolutely! My life is taking off! I only have two semesters left! Graduating early is a good thing! But I couldn't stop thinking about everything I was leaving behind: my friends who have become my family, my adorable apartment that I look forward to every night, my meal plan for when cooking just isn't something that's going to happen, and the overall atmosphere of being a student at Grand Canyon University. So while I'm excited about what the future holds, the question mark is all my uncertainties about leaving so soon.
5. Acceptance
Everything is going to be alright. Yes, it took me a few days to process it, but I realized that my life is moving in the right direction. The end of my days as a GCU student is closer than I expected, but that just means I get to make the most of them while I can. Will I miss life as a 'lope? Of course! But I'm graduating early, not dying. I will still have my friends, I will still be able to visit campus, I will just be a college graduate. And while it might be coming sooner than I expected, college graduation is a good thing... It means that my life is getting started.
