Tick, Tick, Boom.
Last Wednesday night I was sitting in class, minding my own business, when my professor, Gary Kayye, turned to a slide in his lecture that said nothing but the number 228 in bright, bold letters. He looked around the room and asked if anyone knew what this number meant. People threw out a few guesses, but no one gave the answer he was looking for.
“That’s how many days you have until you’re sitting at graduation. 228 days until you walk across the stage. That means it’s 229 days until you’re in the real world.”
Tick…
I’ve since gone back and forth on whether that was exactly what I needed to hear that night or if I’ve never needed to hear anything less.
To be incredibly transparent, every time I think about the “g-word” (graduation), I panic. Heck, it took me a while to even be able to say the “s-word” (senior).
It has nothing to do with what’s on the other side of that graduation stage and everything to do with what I have on this side.
I absolutely adore Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The last time I went about the whole graduating thing was during a global pandemic. It was the first time I was in the same place as my graduating class in over a year.
I know people tend to have mixed feelings about high school graduation, but I for one couldn’t wait to leave.
No hate to you, MoCo. But I always knew I wanted more.
…tick…
Throughout my last four years I’ve often been asked, usually by in-state students, what made me want to come to UNC. My typical response was that the academics, the sports culture, the weather, and the distance from home made it impossible not to love. But the real reason was a feeling that I just couldn’t shake.
The second I stepped foot on campus for a tour during my sophomore year of high school, I felt it. This was the place I was meant to be.
The past three years have made it clear that was the correct decision. Here I have met an incredible array of the brightest, kindest, funniest, and most loving people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. As a result, I’ve transformed as a person. I became a version of myself I know freshman year me would be proud of.
…boom.
Ever since I took my last exam in the spring and officially reached senior status, I’ve felt time ticking down. Every month, day, and hour is one closer to leaving the place that has brought me my favorite memories and favorite people. The thought of leaving that place is hard to grasp.
However, it is because of the experiences I’ve had and the relationships I’ve made since coming to Chapel Hill that I no longer fear change. If I went back in time and told 18-year-old me that I would soon embrace change wholeheartedly rather than run from it, I’d probably laugh in my own face.
I have no clue what’s on the other side of that graduation stage. I try to remind myself that some of the best experiences of my life (studying abroad in Italy, living and working in New York, and choosing to attend the very school I am now so sad to leave, to name a few) were times when I had no idea what would happen.
As Gary reminded us, time is ticking. I urge anyone reading this, no matter the stage of life you’re in, to realize that. Take advantage of every minute you have with the people you care about. Being surrounded by people you love is a privilege.
Today I leave you with a fitting quote by the ever-intelligent Winnie the Pooh: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
If you think about it, being able to say that you have no idea what comes next is a beautiful thing.
You heard it here first,
Kylie
