Here we are, friends. Finals week -- the five days that we all love to hate.
Regardless of what's on the academic doc for the next few days, it's about that time where the good-byes start to be said, a few tears are probably falling and the overwhelmed feeling is starting to set in.
While I'm not graduating, this end of the school year has got me all up in the feels. A lot of my friends are soon leaving Penn State and as I'm preparing for a summer in Philly, I'm nostalgic about the end of this semester. I've been reading all those articles about "the things I learned in college," the "how I became me" lists and the "read this going into your senior year" articles and while incredibly cheesy, here's another note to join that crew.
We define ourselves by a lot of things: what we do, what we care about, who we spend our time with, et cetera et cetera. I've been thinking a lot about this lately because my heart strings are being pulled as yet another year is ending and I'm uneasy about what's to come. One thing that I've realized we don't really have control over that is probably the most definitive part of our lives is home.
Home is different for all of us and I don't really think that it is always a place. For me, home is with the people I love most, all of the laughs and all of the tears (mostly tears) and the feeling of having a reason. We become our home just as it becomes us, but when I think of home, I think of what Penn State has given me.
To all that go here, there are simply no words to describe the connection felt by each person in this community. It doesn't matter what street you walk down, what you decide to study or how you decide to present yourself, Staters are always there for each other at the end of the day. I think that this is what makes this place so powerful in molding who we are as people: there is this ability of Penn State to transform into anything you need it to be. I feel like myself when I'm in the 16801 because of the people I love, the places I frequent and my day to day life that I lead here.
But sometimes, you have to step away from home to appreciate it in the way that it deserves. The last few weeks leading up to finals have been an emotional rollercoaster: highs and lows academically, socially, mentally, you name it. Referencing my last post, it's all about embracing the ride, but just because you embrace something and are willing to take it on doesn't always make it easier to go through.
As someone that has been tearing up for weeks because of this year ending, leaving my friends for the summer, re-living all of the good and bad memories and trying to become the best version of myself, I've somehow had a feeling of lull in my connection to this home. Not in a negative way necessarily, but in the sense that I need to step away to appreciate it more.
This year has been incredibly definitive in my life. The Year Of Why Nots has proven to change me for the better, but it's time to continue that in a new place so that I can embrace next Fall for all that it will give me. So when I was given the opportunity to be in a new zip code for a few months, I jumped at the opportunity. I know that my friends that are graduating probably want to slap me for saying this, but I'm ready to leave this place for now. I'm ready to explore a new area, take on a new chapter and be the person that Penn State has built me up to be.
Whether you're leaving for the summer or leaving to become an adult, sometimes following the feeling of needing to get away can provide clarity. Right now is the time to be nostalgic for all we've been through, but tomorrow (or next week) is the time for new adventure, new ambitions and for defining a new piece of home. This place deserves to be loved for all that it is, and after all -- distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?
Catch me in the HUB all week,
Kirst
Regardless of what's on the academic doc for the next few days, it's about that time where the good-byes start to be said, a few tears are probably falling and the overwhelmed feeling is starting to set in.
While I'm not graduating, this end of the school year has got me all up in the feels. A lot of my friends are soon leaving Penn State and as I'm preparing for a summer in Philly, I'm nostalgic about the end of this semester. I've been reading all those articles about "the things I learned in college," the "how I became me" lists and the "read this going into your senior year" articles and while incredibly cheesy, here's another note to join that crew.
We define ourselves by a lot of things: what we do, what we care about, who we spend our time with, et cetera et cetera. I've been thinking a lot about this lately because my heart strings are being pulled as yet another year is ending and I'm uneasy about what's to come. One thing that I've realized we don't really have control over that is probably the most definitive part of our lives is home.
Home is different for all of us and I don't really think that it is always a place. For me, home is with the people I love most, all of the laughs and all of the tears (mostly tears) and the feeling of having a reason. We become our home just as it becomes us, but when I think of home, I think of what Penn State has given me.
To all that go here, there are simply no words to describe the connection felt by each person in this community. It doesn't matter what street you walk down, what you decide to study or how you decide to present yourself, Staters are always there for each other at the end of the day. I think that this is what makes this place so powerful in molding who we are as people: there is this ability of Penn State to transform into anything you need it to be. I feel like myself when I'm in the 16801 because of the people I love, the places I frequent and my day to day life that I lead here.
But sometimes, you have to step away from home to appreciate it in the way that it deserves. The last few weeks leading up to finals have been an emotional rollercoaster: highs and lows academically, socially, mentally, you name it. Referencing my last post, it's all about embracing the ride, but just because you embrace something and are willing to take it on doesn't always make it easier to go through.
As someone that has been tearing up for weeks because of this year ending, leaving my friends for the summer, re-living all of the good and bad memories and trying to become the best version of myself, I've somehow had a feeling of lull in my connection to this home. Not in a negative way necessarily, but in the sense that I need to step away to appreciate it more.
This year has been incredibly definitive in my life. The Year Of Why Nots has proven to change me for the better, but it's time to continue that in a new place so that I can embrace next Fall for all that it will give me. So when I was given the opportunity to be in a new zip code for a few months, I jumped at the opportunity. I know that my friends that are graduating probably want to slap me for saying this, but I'm ready to leave this place for now. I'm ready to explore a new area, take on a new chapter and be the person that Penn State has built me up to be.Whether you're leaving for the summer or leaving to become an adult, sometimes following the feeling of needing to get away can provide clarity. Right now is the time to be nostalgic for all we've been through, but tomorrow (or next week) is the time for new adventure, new ambitions and for defining a new piece of home. This place deserves to be loved for all that it is, and after all -- distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?
Catch me in the HUB all week,
Kirst
