And then it was over.

It's official. I am finally a college graduate. After an incredibly long, stressful four years week of trying hard to care about biology facts and due dates, it is all over. Abruptly, I might add.

I'd spent a good deal of time anticipating an entirely climactic conclusion that included a lot of smiling, hugging, and perhaps even a few tears as I parted ways with my friends and professors. I imagined hours of picture-taking, diplomas held high, as our enormous and overpriced black polyester bathrobes fluttered in the spring breeze. But the ceremony came and went without much participation on my part, I saw some faces for perhaps the last time, and then, just like that, we drove off to dinner and college was over.

Now I'm feeling a mix of relief and unease, as I move out of this stage of life and into a new, much more uncertain one. Three cheers for no more homework, or GPAs, or shoulder problems caused by carting around enormous textbooks...but I'll miss the familiar faces, the professors I've come to really respect and enjoy, and my favorite computer lab in Haggard Hall. No doubt that my college years have been some difficult ones, a period that has encompassed my most major downs and deepest struggles. But I feel like I've concluded with some wonderful highs, and not only do I feel accomplished in my studies, but I am content with who I've turned out to be as well. Of course there is always room for improvement and learning new things, but I don't have any reservations when declaring myself happy. And that feels good.

The next week-and-a-half-ish has already been resigned to packing, working, and whole-heartedly attempting to eat at all of my favorite places in Bellingham before I leave on the 19th. Then it's off to Wisconsin and New Hampshire for some quality family time before being spit back out into real life again, to find a job, make a plan, and generally get my shit together. 

Cross your fingers for me!