With less than 100 days until graduation, I have come to the realization that the final semester of college is by far the worst and most difficult. Not only is the course load ridiculous, but trying to figure your life out with the impending deadline of graduation looming over you is incredibly nerve wracking. I honestly feel like a chicken with my head cut off at this point, blindly stumbling through life, trying to make the right decisions all at once. Here are my reasons why the last semester of school is the most painful of them all.
1) The realization that one of the best times of your life is coming to an end is simply depressing.The days of partying at grungy college bars and sleeping in are nearly over; and it's hard to see that era end. Going on crazy spontaneous adventures, day drinking before football games and bar-hopping through the wee hours of the night are just a few aspects of the college experience I had that I will miss dearly.
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2) Trying to stay focused when searching for jobs is easier said than done. If you have an open-ended major like me (Communication), there are so many different directions you can go in your career. It's good to be open to lots of possibilities, but it can make it incredibly overwhelming to try to determine what path to take.
3) Knowing that once you graduate, you will never see most of the people you've been surrounded by everyday for years again, sucks. Although it's kind of freeing to know you will be able to "start fresh" after college, it's bittersweet because the friends you've made through class will be going down their own separate paths as well.
4) Figuring out your post-graduation living situation is super stressful. For me, my lease is ending at the same time as graduation, and it's really solidifying the fact that college is truly ending and I am entering a new chapter of life. Not only is it hitting me that everything is changing, it is overwhelming to try to figure out where life will be taking you next.
5) You start thinking of things you wish you had done during college that you most likely won't get to. I wish I had pushed myself out of my comfort zone more, joined clubs, and gotten more involved with my school, but it's too late for that now.
The fact that college is coming to an end has been weighing heavily on me lately. The stress and pressure to succeed have been exhausting, not to mention emotionally draining. This is an incredibly challenging stage of life, and so much is changing that it can be extremely terrifying. However, I will close this article with one final thought- no matter how scary, hopeless, discouraging, and saddening this phase may be, it is only a phase. The instability soon-to-be graduates experience will pass with time. The dust will settle, life will figure itself out, and everything will fall into place. You've just got to push through and make it to that point.
