The reality of having to jump into the real world and figure out what it means to adult is pretty scary, right? Whether you're a senior or junior or overly-anxious sophomore, the prospect of life after graduation has likely crossed your mind. What do I want my career to look like? Where do I see myself living? Um, what the heck am I even doing? If these questions don't cross your mind, then good for you. If you're anything like me, though, you think about these types of things. I know that right now, I am nowhere near ready to leave my amazing school… and I'm only a junior.

I can't imagine how my senior friends are feeling right now. They are an entire year closer to the major milestone I am not mentally prepared for graduation. There are a number of reasons why I'm not ready to graduate though.

I don't want to leave Purdue.

Firstly, I love my school oh-so-much. This year more than ever, I feel like I've gained a much stronger appreciation for good ole Purdue University. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved Purdue. Heck, it's the only school I even applied to. But after being here for a little over two years, my gratitude has only grown. That in itself is one of the major reasons why I don't want to leave.

I'm also just decently unsure of what I see myself doing for the rest of my life. Anyone else with me? It is so hard to know. I came into Purdue thinking I had my whole life planned out to the T. But, things (majors) change and nothing ever goes as planned. Part of me loves the excitement of not knowing where I will end up, but I definitely think I need more time to narrow things down at least a little bit more. I'm studying Mass Communications now, and there are only about a million different careers that that encompasses, so it shouldn't be that difficult, right?

I want to move on, but I really like being in college.

To contradict everything I've said thus far, there is a little part of me that enjoys the idea of moving on, starting my career, starting a life and a family and all of that jazz. I definitely think there are more amazing stages in my life that I haven't come to yet, but this whole college stage is pretty freaking cool, to say the least.

I don't think anybody is ever fully prepared for major change, just as I don't think I will ever be fully prepared to walk my last steps as a Purdue student. Thank goodness I am a junior and still have a little more time to enjoy the fortunate place I find myself in. To those of you who are a senior, I hope you're living up your last year as much as possible at whatever school you go to because four years as a college student sure seem to fly by.