Top Five Things I've Learned Since Graduating from College
Last night, instead of folding my laundry or going to bed like I should have, I made myself a strawberry milkshake (that’s right—made it myself) and watched my college memories video. Made in the spring of our senior year by my friend Holley, the video thoroughly documents our four years at Asbury with pictures, songs, and a few ill-conceived videos (I swear we were sober at the time). I laughed and cried (mostly from laughing too hard), and for over an hour, was transported into another time and place—my college life. I know I’m only 27, and I still even live in the same small town, but that life feels light years away. In honor of our five-year reunion, less than two weeks from now, I present the top five things I’ve learned since graduating from Asbury College (one for each year :)).
1. One night senior year, in a fit of stress and burnout, I chucked a paper that was due the next day in favor of staying up half the night acting crazy with my best friends. I now know—I made the right choice. That paper is long forgotten, the effects of its tardiness bearing no significance on my life. Memories of that night, however, are vividly etched in my memory.
2. I should have broken more rules and studied harder. Asbury’s rules are not the rules of the real world. Besides, rule-breaking makes for great stories down the line. As for studying harder, I guess the older I get, the more I wish I knew. I didn’t know everything at 22. I still don’t at 27, but I least I’m aware of it now.
3. People do change. Only five years later, our times together are not “just like the old days.” But true friendships endure through the changes of life. I am lucky that most of the faces on that video have endured as a genuine and important presence in my life.
4. Bridesmaid dresses—NO, you will never wear them again. They will merely hang in your closet collecting dust, each one reminding you of the time you spent with your girlfriend on the happiest day of her life.
5. You CAN survive after college away from your family and without a man. And not just survive, but flourish. (I thought that this theory was true, but it remained untested in my own life.) Some might say that this is a single girl’s cop out for not being married. I say it’s my anthem. And I wave my banner high.
Last night, instead of folding my laundry or going to bed like I should have, I made myself a strawberry milkshake (that’s right—made it myself) and watched my college memories video. Made in the spring of our senior year by my friend Holley, the video thoroughly documents our four years at Asbury with pictures, songs, and a few ill-conceived videos (I swear we were sober at the time). I laughed and cried (mostly from laughing too hard), and for over an hour, was transported into another time and place—my college life. I know I’m only 27, and I still even live in the same small town, but that life feels light years away. In honor of our five-year reunion, less than two weeks from now, I present the top five things I’ve learned since graduating from Asbury College (one for each year :)).
1. One night senior year, in a fit of stress and burnout, I chucked a paper that was due the next day in favor of staying up half the night acting crazy with my best friends. I now know—I made the right choice. That paper is long forgotten, the effects of its tardiness bearing no significance on my life. Memories of that night, however, are vividly etched in my memory.
2. I should have broken more rules and studied harder. Asbury’s rules are not the rules of the real world. Besides, rule-breaking makes for great stories down the line. As for studying harder, I guess the older I get, the more I wish I knew. I didn’t know everything at 22. I still don’t at 27, but I least I’m aware of it now.
3. People do change. Only five years later, our times together are not “just like the old days.” But true friendships endure through the changes of life. I am lucky that most of the faces on that video have endured as a genuine and important presence in my life.
4. Bridesmaid dresses—NO, you will never wear them again. They will merely hang in your closet collecting dust, each one reminding you of the time you spent with your girlfriend on the happiest day of her life.
5. You CAN survive after college away from your family and without a man. And not just survive, but flourish. (I thought that this theory was true, but it remained untested in my own life.) Some might say that this is a single girl’s cop out for not being married. I say it’s my anthem. And I wave my banner high.
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