Each time I come up on a major academic change, I feel anxious. Changing schools in K-12 was difficult for me, not to mention the huge undertaking that was entering university to the dead campus of 2020. However, despite the growing stress I feel for several months or even years before such a change, there always comes a moment of readiness. I always forget it will happen, or worry I will never be prepared, but then it hits me — okay, I’ve got this; it’s time to move on.
Recently, I’ve been getting that feeling, and I’m thankful for it. All throughout the summer and fall of 2023, I was so worried I actually made my lips bleed from nervous habits: “I’m not ready to not be in school anymore. What happens when I’m out in the world? The only thing I know how to do is be a student.” And I know it will hurt. Learning is one of my favorite things. I love going to lectures and workshops, I love planning for classes and study dates and keeping track of assignments. I would even go so far as to say I enjoy doing homework — several of my poor professors who have received a piece of writing twice the recommended length will attest to this. But in the middle of this quarter, I was blessed with that feeling once more. I am ready for it.
I finally feel ready to start my last quarter at university and finish it all off with a bang. I look back at all the things I’ve done while in school — attending a summer abroad program in Oxford, England, and a semester abroad in Kyoto, Japan; making long-lasting connections with exceptional peers and dear friends; participating in an honors program that has fundamentally improved my university experience; and editing and writing for this national magazine for two years — I am satisfied and proud of myself. I am completing my last quarter with both an honors capstone project and a senior thesis, and I am so incredibly motivated to wrap up my university experience with all of the gusto and passion I had upon first walking onto campus in August of 2020.
After I am finished with all of my projects and I walk at commencement this spring, I know I will be ready to move on to the career I’ve been dreaming of since I was a third grader sitting under a tree at recess, writing a god-awful story about a mermaid princess. I am thankful for that feeling of readiness, because it has made me feel less burned out than usual and more invigorated. I will complete my time as a student, I will transition into the workforce, and I will excel. This attitude has generated more motivation and passion for my studies than I even had before.
For anyone who feels the same as I have always felt about these types of changes, I say, don’t worry. If you work your hardest, and keep your goals in mind, that feeling of readiness will come. You will be prepared and excited to move on. And you will be wonderful. Good luck, and keep working hard!