In these past few weeks, the reality that is the end of my college career has really been sinking in. With this realization, comes both excitement and fear. Excitement for the unknown. Fear for the unknown. Yet, also a humbling contentedness for all the experience has been to me and for me. To put it simply, it is the most bittersweet feeling. I am suddenly appreciating the drive through Malibu Canyon a little bit more each morning and I am stopping to embrace the ocean view that greets me at the end of my drive. Throughout the course of my four years here, things have been both appreciated and taken for granted.

Regardless of the past, now is the time to revel in the final moments of such a profound and defining chapter in my life. While it is tempting to dwell on and worry about the unknowns of life after graduation, I am making the conscious decision not to. Of course, that is a lot easier said than done. A good majority of us are trying to piece together what will be doing once May rolls around. While I do have a comforting known, that I will be continuing on at a company that I appreciate and also feel appreciates me greatly, life will still be different. While I do not know what will come during this transitional period of life, I am trying my best to choose optimism in the face of doubt and faith in the face of disappointment. Of course, as with everything else, or so it seems, there is a bit of a learning curve. But, progress is all that matters.

One moment at a time, one day a time. That is the rhythm I'm determined to reset my mind to. I'll be the first to tell you that that is completely against my nature. Just take a look at my GoogleCalendar and you could probably figure out what I "will be doing" an exact year from today. The fact is that no one actually knows. We can plan and we can hope for things, but I'm learning that nothing should ever be expected or plagued by entitlement. Though rejoicing when the things that we did plan and hope for do actually happen is valid, that should in no way discredit the joy that can result from all of life's unplanned and unthought of moments.

So, as we press on through this last month of life-as-we-know-it, I encourage you to try to take each day for what its worth. Each sunset, each conservation, each minute. While it's all too easy to go through the motions at this point, make the conscious choice to be fully present during these last moments. After all, we do only have so many left. Let's make each one count.