The Next Step

From day one we have been prepped for "the next step". From potty training to college graduation we've had our hands held in hopes of making decent progress onto the following chapters of our lives. Once the advancement has been made we are showered with praise. Our first steps, mastering basic arithmetic, parallel parking, all the way to advanced biochemistry that only surgeons or jeopardy contestants would be privy to. We've earned this praise though. After all, it hasn't been easy getting this far. Our goals that we set for ourselves may be high, but it's all about trying to achieve our full potential. However, eventually the ones that have led you all this way have to step back and take the back seat. You're the driver now and quite frankly, it's terrifying as hell.

They say that 'the college years' are the best years of your life. If that's so, then I'm about to peak at 22, and it's all down hill from here. I'm staring at the rest of my life and the decisions that I have to make right now are more than overwhelming. Suddenly I'm realizing that I have 10 months left before the script of my life is blank and I have to start writing the next page by myself (literally and figuratively). While this may be somewhat of a daunting task my Wanderers, remember that you are not alone. Things are going to change. Period, plain and simple. I will tell you this though. The true friends that have stood by you for so long are still beside you, just as you are right beside them.

The truth is we don't peak at 22, 35, or 40. There might be an "Over the Hill", and 20 may be the new 30, but I'm going to live each day the way I want and argue, until the day I die that we never "peak." Our lives are a constant series of ups and downs and we just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. It's hard enough to try and start this journey into "the real world," but doing it by yourself would be a hardship above all others. Cherish the friendships that you've made and remember that no matter how far you may be from each other, whether it be the next town, the next state, or the next continent, that those people will always be there for you and that it's only a matter of time before you see them again.

You remember that time that you stood on the corner to wait for the bus in the freezing cold, only to realize that you'd missed the last one by an hour and had to walk all the way back? Or how about the time that you took one shot too many and your best friend patted you on the back while the coolness of the toilet seat felt like home against your flush cheeks? Who could forget the time that you stayed up playing "Kings" around a self designed coffee table until four in the morning, knowing that you had a nine a.m. class. The time you all hiked and complained the entire way up, only to realize how much closer you had gotten, dangling your feet over the edge of the cliff and stared out, silently, over the pristine untouched landscape that seemed to stretch out forever.

These memories are what make 'the college years' so incredible. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Take all of these and allow them to fill you up as you take this next step into the real world. It's not going to be easy, I assure you. The world has a way of smacking you down just when you feel like you've gotten a grip on it. When you feel like you've been beaten down, that the world has had it's way with you and you're not getting a second chance, remember all of those good times from before and know that you're going to be just fine. Keep getting up and make new memories. There might be new traditions on Christmas, altered acceptance of drinking habits during weekdays, and certainly trials and tribulations that will test you, but I know that each and everyone of you has the ability to take that "next step" and come out on the other side smiling.