This past Friday night, I returned to my alma mater, Merrimack College, for a night filled with fun and friends. Not only was there a lot going on throughout campus -- a hockey game, a concert -- but there were a bunch of people I had promised to visit and reunite with, even if only briefly. It was a strange experience, though. Just a mere two months ago I was both a full-time student and living in the residence halls alongside fellow students. Now, I am living at home with my parents and have my Bachelor's degree under my belt. I realized I had made the transition from "insider" to "outsider" in the blink of an eye.
That may seem like a drastic thing to say considering, as I just mentioned, I haven't been out of school for more than two months. However, as I went to all of the events on campus last night, I kept thinking about how different I was than some of the students who surrounded me, especially the underclassmen. I am in a completely different state of mind and stage of my life. I'm in the process of making preparations to become completely independent and starting my career, whereas as I looked around me, everyone else is still trying to figure out what they wanted and who they were. Now, I'm certainly not saying that I have myself 100% figured out, but when I walked into my freshman dorm room three and a half years ago, I didn't have much sense of self. While I feel as though learning who you are is an on-going process throughout your life, I can certainly say -- and with conviction -- that I am more sure of myself and who I am now than I was when I began college. And that's how it's supposed to be.
So going back to visit old friends was a great experience, but I felt as though there was somewhat of a divide. I am now on the outside looking in. I'm the same age as many of the students and in fact, I am even younger than many of them as well, but I am transitioning to a completely new life. They're just not there yet and it's hard for me to find where I fit in with my friends who have yet to face the post-grad woes and those friends who are already well past that stage. When I visit Merrimack, I laugh and can relate to everything that is currently going on in my friends' lives obviously, but I don't feel as connected any more. Sure, these are my friends, but I'm not "in it" with them like I used to be and I guess it's difficult to figure out how to keep parts of that past present.
Though I am merely reflecting on my experience from undergrad to post-grad life, I think it can be applicable to any transitional stage of someone's life -- from childhood to young adulthood, single life to married life, old job to new job -- so I suppose that learning how to deal with it and make sense of these changes is something that will be useful throughout my entire life.
That may seem like a drastic thing to say considering, as I just mentioned, I haven't been out of school for more than two months. However, as I went to all of the events on campus last night, I kept thinking about how different I was than some of the students who surrounded me, especially the underclassmen. I am in a completely different state of mind and stage of my life. I'm in the process of making preparations to become completely independent and starting my career, whereas as I looked around me, everyone else is still trying to figure out what they wanted and who they were. Now, I'm certainly not saying that I have myself 100% figured out, but when I walked into my freshman dorm room three and a half years ago, I didn't have much sense of self. While I feel as though learning who you are is an on-going process throughout your life, I can certainly say -- and with conviction -- that I am more sure of myself and who I am now than I was when I began college. And that's how it's supposed to be.
So going back to visit old friends was a great experience, but I felt as though there was somewhat of a divide. I am now on the outside looking in. I'm the same age as many of the students and in fact, I am even younger than many of them as well, but I am transitioning to a completely new life. They're just not there yet and it's hard for me to find where I fit in with my friends who have yet to face the post-grad woes and those friends who are already well past that stage. When I visit Merrimack, I laugh and can relate to everything that is currently going on in my friends' lives obviously, but I don't feel as connected any more. Sure, these are my friends, but I'm not "in it" with them like I used to be and I guess it's difficult to figure out how to keep parts of that past present.
Though I am merely reflecting on my experience from undergrad to post-grad life, I think it can be applicable to any transitional stage of someone's life -- from childhood to young adulthood, single life to married life, old job to new job -- so I suppose that learning how to deal with it and make sense of these changes is something that will be useful throughout my entire life.
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| A slightly (and by slightly, I mean very) embarrassing picture of me cooking at home as a bright-eyed freshman in college back in the fall of 08 |
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| Three years later, ringing in the new year and a new life as a post-grad at the end of 2011 into 2012 |
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