College is one of those inevitable things. The cliché to “watch out because it will go by fast!” is completely accurate. One day it will just slap you in the face how fast your time in college has gone by. This happened to me about a week ago. I was at my sorority’s senior send-off, which is a party for the graduating seniors celebrating their relationships with their sisters and their accomplishments made during our undergraduate careers. All of a sudden that night I had all of these amazing women come up to me and hug me and describe how much I have meant to them. Quite literally my sorority sisters stated to my face the woman who I had always aspired to be. But this time it wasn’t me describing who I wanted to be in the future, but who people saw me as today – in this very moment. Often times young people in college are far too hard on themselves. We were raised within a generation that is born to be competitive, independent and overly confident. So often we do not give ourselves enough credit for the work we have produced. I fall victim to this every day. Looking back on my time at Christopher Newport, I regret not congratulating myself in the moment on the things that I have accomplished during my undergraduate career.
Growing up is inevitable. It’s something I can’t stop. I remember one day having someone telling me to compare life to a train. A train keeps going on a schedule, but a train also has many stops along the way. College is one of my stops along the tracks. Christopher Newport has given me incredible friends, amazing mentors, a beautiful environment, support, kindness, opportunity for leadership and an opportunity to develop into the woman I am today. Four years ago, I adamantly did not want to go to this school. Today I find myself tearing up on the Great Lawn because I don’t want to leave. Christopher Newport has given me beyond an amazing experience and if you have chosen to go here I congratulate you! The only advice I have left to give is that you get out of it what you put into it. So throw your inhibitions to the wind and set sail at Christopher Newport because trust me, you won’t regret it.
Signing off one last time. T-minus 18 days to Graduation…. #HastaLaVista
