I haven not written in quite some time. This can mostly be attributed to end of semester items, end of undergraduate career whatnots. I have spent the entirety of my college career waiting for these moments, these last days, a time when I would finally be seeing the culmination of all of my efforts, finally have the degrees I put so much into.
A lot of people say they don’t want to leave college, don’t want to leave all of their friends. I am in no way saddened by the rapid approach of the end of my undergraduate career. Friends I have made here, real friends, will never be anything less, I do not fear losing contact because I will make the effort. I have changed so much from the time I was 18, but so has everyone else. I feel as though I have done the most growing during this past year. Exactly one year ago today, there is no way I could have ever imagined myself here, in this place. I am content with the way my life is progressing, and moreover, I am ready, eager, and willing to achieve the next part of my education and undertake the next stage in my life. I am not the kid I was when I got here, I am not the kid I was last year.
It is not so much that I am ready to leave UAlbany, but that I am ready to move forward. I have a great sense of gratitude and respect for the lessons I have learned throughout my academic career here at UAlbany. I have met some of the most influential people in my life here. I have developed an interest and respect for cultures I never would have learned of otherwise.
My parents came this weekend to move the majority of my things back home. There are only a few things left, things I can easily fit into my trunk when I leave after my physics department graduation. To most people on this campus, to most who will live here after me, this will just be a room in an on-campus apartment. And though I have called this campus home for my entire undergraduate career, it is not so much about the institution itself as the meaning you find in the experiences here. I see that many of my classmates have taken very little from their experiences, preferring to take their college experiences for granted. I believe that undergraduate careers are 50% academics and 50% life experiences, each being as equally important as the other.
Everybody’s college experience is different. This brief reflection on mine is just a snippet of what I feel I have truly learned here. UAlbany was the best decision I ever made, even if I made some terrible ones while here. I do believe that is called life. I do believe this is where I have learned the most about it.
