I can’t believe I have been out of college for an entire year. Not only does it make me feel old, but it’s definitely bittersweet. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my favorite little place in Virginia.
Coming from someone who is now a year out of college, I think the above quote sums up a persons time in college. I have been looking for a way to put the “feeling” of graduating college and venturing out into the world that is called “real” onto paper (my first attempt was purely satirical). My plan was to write a sort of “reflection” as a year of post-grad life had passed. I have been thinking on this for a while and could not seem to form the “feeling” into words. I have half written blog drafts, notes on my phone, but none of it seemed up to par with my collegiate experience. Call it writers block, if you wish. It’s more of a strange feeling than a sad one or a happy one. When I stumbled upon the above quote it was as if my feelings were eloquently versed. Of course, this is not what Ms. Nafisi was referring to in her memoir, but as I pull the quote from its’ context, it just works.
As I have ventured through life, now as an adult, I have grown and learned in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I hope my thirst for knowledge and experiences never wanes. I feel even more thankful now, than I did a year ago, to have had such an incredible 4 year experience… so incredible that I am still posting about it today.
My 4 years in college were some of the best years of my life and I would not go back to change a single thing about those years nor how I have chosen to spend the first year of post-grad life. Throughout the years, the cliched saying of “everything happens for a reason” resonates through and through. Throughout my life, I have lived with two concepts in the back of my mind, always: hard work always pays off and be kind to everyone you meet.
“JMU is not just an institution of higher learning, but it is a
spirit, it is an atmosphere, it is…a way of life. I am glad to say
that I have lived.”
Cheers to “sophomore year” in the real world 
Congratulations to all who are graduating this year. It is certainly something to be proud of!
Have a fabulous day!