I always thought that this day would come, but not as soon as I anticipated. I graduate from college in a little over a month, which I am excited for and also sad about. I am excited to be able to start my life and be done with school for good. These past four years were the best of my life and I have made friends along this journey that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I am sad to be leaving some of my friends behind at Clarion, but I know that they will be around for me every step of the way. I have learned so much in the classroom and outside of it, I learned life lessons that I will use and pass on to others.
Looking back on my time at Clarion, I thought my time was well spent and I left enough of an impression on some students and faculty that I feel that I will be remembered here. I wanted to make an impression at school, not as big as an impact that I would have liked to have left, but I made a good one. I never thought about legacies and how they are affect faculty and students alike. There were people that I looked up to at my time at Clarion University and they left an impression on myself and other students.
They were the mentors that all college students need because it's a little scary moving away from home for the first time and living on your own or with a roommate. I want to thank my CAs' and also upperclassmen that took my freshmen-self under their wing. I took their knowledge and passed it on to the freshmen that I have met this year and hopefully they will continue in my footsteps. I want them to pay it forward if you will and continue the legacy of mentoring others. I've been really looking back at all the memories that I have made here, the good and even the bad ones. There are some things that I regret, but I wouldn't change how my college experience unfolded over the last four years. I have lost and gained friends, I have laughed and I have cried. This is just a part of your journey through college and through life. You learn from all the experiences and it can be very rewarding in the long run.
Walking at graduation will be a bittersweet moment, but I will earn one of the greatest achievements in my life, my college degree. This semester is rapidly coming to a close and I am more than ready to depart college, begin my next chapter in life and see what the future holds.
