"I hope you had the time of your life"

I am unofficially a college graduate. It is a more amazing feeling than I could have ever imagined, being done. You know that feeling you get when you finish a semester? You can breathe deeper, smile easier, and just knowing the fact that there is nothing left to be done makes you happier than you were before. Multiply that feeling by a hundred. That's how I feel right now. It is awesome.

I walked out of my last interview yesterday afternoon having turned in my portfolio for my minor and I just wanted to break out into song and dance and tell the whole world that I was done. I would never have to walk onto that campus again as a student. That would have been strange if I had done that though, so I settled with calling my mom and just telling her my exciting news.

So here I am, at the close of a big chapter of life. I'm done with college. It only took me three and half years, but what an amazing three and a half years it was. It's amazing to think about all that has happened in that time. All the learning and growing I've done. All of the fantastic people that I've met. I wish that I could have another three and half years like that. I'm not ready to be done.

It's funny thinking about how I've changed. Since those days as a young, impressionable freshman, just starting life as an "adult." Ha! Even sophomore year was pretty unrealistic, the way that I thought about life. For example, I was flipping through my journal and this caught my eye:

March 2, 2010

"I had the thought today that I'm so glad that I'm majoring in something practical that I can find a job with since it's not likely at this point that I'll be married by the time I graduate. Who knows what'll happen next year though."

It's really quite funny how marriage obsessed I was back then. Not that now I'm any less interested in marriage. I mean, I'm just like any Mormon girl...deep down the greatest desire of my heart is just to get married. But the difference between me now and me two years ago when I wrote that? It's not my first priority in everything. I am still so glad that I majored in something practical that I can find a job with, not because I'm not married, but because isn't that why we get a higher education? So we can get a job? Really I'm glad with my major because it is something practical that I love. I found something that I was passionate about and I can have the satisfaction in knowing that I can love my job for the rest of my life.

I really think it's been in the last year and a half that I've really matured and grown up. I've really come to discover some of life's secrets and I think I've grown into a person that I actually really like. I don't have any huge regrets or wishes of things I could change. I think the people I've known in that period of time have really helped me a lot too. I've had to work through different problems with different relationships, and they've helped me to understand things better. I've grown to be best friends with several people, closer than I think I've ever really been with anyone before. It's surprising how much you can learn about yourself and about life just by talking to certain people.

So, Friday night as we were driving to Salt Lake, Green Day's timeless song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" came on the radio. I never really understood the real depth and meaning of those lyrics before. Until that moment. As my roommates and I sang along it really hit me. Life is so unpredictable, but what you end up with in the end is right. So after all of these nonsensical ramblings that I'm not even sure make sense I want you to know that as I've lived my life here in Provo the past three and a half years...

I've had the time of my life.