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Well, I guess I am a college graduate now. Weird, weird, weird. I don’t feel quite ready to be a full-fledged adult yet, so I will be starting Accelerated Nursing School at Creighton in August. I am excited to be pursuing a career in nursing with a background in psychology. The long-term goal is to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner in pediatrics. (We will see where life takes me…I am VERY indecisive ☺.)
Before graduation, a few of my best girlfriends and I were curled up on my bed on a Sunday morning discussing the events from the night before. The conversation turned to how we will not be having too many more college nights or Sunday morning snuggles together. One is off to medical school at Creighton in Phoenix; another to dental school in Iowa; one will be an oncology nurse at Mayo in Rochester; and another graduated early and is a semester ahead of me in accelerated nursing school (yeah, I have the coolest friends). We talked about being excited for each other and planned our first girls’ weekend reunion, which will take place in Iowa City. And then came the nerves. We are all going to be in different places in a few weeks and living totally different lives than we had the previous four years.
New cities, homes, programs, jobs, and schools will offer new challenges. That is inevitable. But I know that we are ready. I trust that we would not be presented with opportunities if we were not prepared—opportunities that we worked for; opportunities that we spent WAY too many hours in the library for.
Think about where we were four short years ago. One last summer in our hometowns before leaving our friends and family. Then in August, we packed our bags and traveled to a new city and school. It took some time, and there were nerves and bumps in the road; but we figured it out. We lived on our own for the first time. Quickly, we realized that college classes are not quite the same as high school classes. (Some of us learned that the hard way… by “some of us,” I mean me). And we discovered that not everyone is going to stick around, but the ones who do become more like family than friends.
I swear the four of you know me better than I know myself at times—which is why when one of us has a moment of self-doubt, the other four rally around in support. We have seen each other work hard and grow. We know what the others are capable of. We have seen each other at our worst. When stuff really hits the fan, we are able to sit there with each other without judgment—even when there are ugly tears. We can be honest with each other; sometimes we have to put each other in our place. I always joked about “finding my people” because it sounds so cliché— and quite frankly it is very cheesy—but truly I found my people; and I would not want it any other way.
So, my sweet IYKYK girls (that means if you know you know. It is the name of our group message; somehow it just stuck), I am proud that I get to know and love you. Be confident that you are ready to take on the world (or fake it till you make it), just like you did when you first came to Creighton four years ago. When you get those nerves or hit a bump in the road, because you will, know that I am only a phone call away. Thanks for being “my people.” I am truly blessed. SEE YA IN IOWA CITY very soon for a fun night and Sunday morning snuggles.
P.S. I know I am not normally this mushy, but graduating college has made me very sentimental apparently!!!
