The past year as a junior, whenever friends and family asked if I was sad to be a senior next year or nervous to graduate, my answer would always be “nope!” I worked full time last summer at a really exciting internship, and it made me really eager to get out into the real world and start my career. I couldn’t wait to be doing what I love every day. Not to mention junior year is a killer and I’ve just been not loving the stress that comes with classes.
But, the past few weeks, as all my classes end, clubs have final meetings, and friends say goodbye either for a little while or for a long time (seniors!! I’ll miss you!!), I’m starting to realize maybe I’m not so excited to be a senior after all.
When I started junior year in the fall, I was a little nervous about what my friendships would be like. Everybody was coming back from studying abroad in all different countries in the spring, and I worried that everything would be different and none of my friendships would last. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, things are a little different, but for the better!
Not only did I come back and discover that all my friends hadn’t changed a bit (except for a newfound love of Guinness thanks to Ireland), but if anything, my friendships are stronger. Distance really does make the heart grow fonder. I feel so lucky to have friends who’ve travelled the world and grown smarter and wiser because of it.
In addition to an amazing reunion with old friends, I’ve made incredible new friends this year, too. My goal for junior year was to get more involved in campus ministry events both at SMC and Notre Dame. I’ve made AMAZING new friends at SMC, ND, and even off campus. Groups like Young Life and ISI showed me what it really means to have unconditional and really caring love for friends, and I know the relationships I’ve made in those groups will last me a lifetime. I got involved in a church off campus and met amazing people in the South Bend community I never would have met otherwise, and it makes me sad to know I won’t be in town to see them this summer.
This year, I’ve got to meet my friend’s moms and appreciate mine at JMW (shoutout to Emily Lenahan for her Pinterest-worthy brunch), celebrate 21st birthdays with sangria and mimosas, and pull all-nighters working on group projects for the major I absolutely love, communication. I may have started junior year feeling excited to be one step closer to graduation, but now, I want to push graduation as far away as possible (but not really because #tuition). For the first time, I’m not excited to go home for a break, but I know that this summer, the distance between me and my friends will make our relationships grow stronger, and I can’t wait for us all to live up senior year together.