To my fellow college seniors,

I'm not sure about you guys, but these past few years have been some of the greatest times of my life. College has taught me a lot about myself. About who I am, who I want to be, who I was. It has taught me to love myself, to be proud of who I am, to be confident in myself. It has given me some of the greatest friends in the world. Friends that will be by my side for a lifetime. I have loved every minute of my time here. I have learned so much, in and out of the classroom. I hope it has been the same for you all.

Why I am writing, though, is not to reminisce on all of our good times. No, this is to give you all, and myself, a little hope.

You see, now we are on the job hunt. We are all competing for the same jobs in the same cities with basically the same educations. It is so tough. I mean it REALLY takes a blow on your self esteem. But know you aren't going through this alone. Know that we all are feeling what you're going through.

This can be really hard. It hurts and it sucks. But I like to remain positive. Every interview is a learning opportunity. Every visit is a chance for you to learn more about where you really want to work. It toughens you up. We, as humans, no matter what age, have to be able to take constructive criticism. So, learn from what people say. Learn from your mistakes. Learn more about yourself and your hopes and your dreams. And turn it all into action. Turn it into a plan where you take on the world.

These past few years have been like no other. I am convinced I won't have any other experience like my college experience. I am challenging the universe to prove me wrong. I hope that I am wrong. I hope one day, I look back and realize that college was great, but my future has been better. I am choosing to remain positive.

That's the key, I think. That we need to remain positive. We need to learn from every opportunity we encounter, good or bad. Because here's the thing: we have learned from extraordinary people. We are going to be extraordinary people to others one day. But there is some kind of journey between now and that day. And we need to learn from it all as much as possible.

So, my college friends terrified of graduating: Let's do this. Let's take on the world. Be courageous and bold. Be fearless. Be humble. Be yourself. One door is closing, but an even bigger one is opening.