I'm gonna miss this...

I can't believe that in just over a month, I will be a college graduate. That's insane! These years have gone by soooo fast. I've lived here in College Station longer than I have anywhere else - thank you Air Force! I've loved it, but settling down for four full years really helped this attachment grow...I'm ready to graduate, I'm excited about the future and know that I'm prepared for grad school. Texas A&M isn't "my" school anymore...I don't know most of the people I see everyday; my class is about to graduate and move on. I'll miss the teachers for sure, especially my sweet undergraduate history advisor. I love her! And I'll miss the campus, Kyle Field in particular. But I'm ready to move on. Sure I may shed a few tears, but I really wouldn't want to spend any more years studying here. My only regreat is that there are so many more subjects I wish I could have studied! Oh if I only had the money, I would give anything to go back and get a Bachelor's degree in several different areas...I'm definitely going to audit classes in the future. Just can't get enough of history, religion, geography, philosophy, and so many other subjects! I wish I could make a career out of studying for personal enrichment. Even as a teacher I'll have to be too specialized for my taste.

The thing that I'm going to miss the most is triathlon. The fightin' Texas Aggie Triathlon Team, to be exact. We've come a long ways since my freshman year, but to be honest I don't like it. I'm glad that the team has grown so much, but I miss the way things were a few years ago. I formed some incredibly awesome friendships with some incredibly awesome people. Shout out to Cheryl, Cara, Meghan, Nellie, Paige, Rick, Ryan, Devin, Aaron, Eric, Daniel and so many more people. You guys were with me for my first Nationals, my first marathon, through all these years as we've grown up and begun to graduate. Not to be creepy, but I want to keep in touch with you guys for the rest of our lives. Seriously.

Sometimes I wish I could go back and start my entire college experience over again, knowing what I know now. But honestly, I don't think I'd change a thing. I LOVE my job working for USAT, and all the time I've spent training and racing. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to spend so much time by myself, but that's what it takes to race well. I'm glad I joined the Corps...it took a lot of time, and wasn't particularly useful for anything, but I formed a lot of friendships through it. I DO wish that I had figured out earlier that Nutrition was not the right path for me, so I wouldn't have wasted so many hours studying chemistry, and would have had more classes on history, etc. to take. But it's all part of growing up, figuring out who you are, what you are passionate about, what you want to do for the rest of your life. I never really pictured what I would do for a living. I know that I'll be training and racing ultramarathons and probably triathlons for the rest of my life. And I want to have a family so bad! I'll be in grad school for the next few years, at least two while I work towards my MA (history), and I may decide to pursue a Ph.D. To be honest though, I'd rather just teach elementry school, because I love kids so much! I know it won't pay as well, but there are more important things than money. Also, I'd love to be a coach. Running probably, perhaps cross country. Maybe triathlon. Boy that would be awesome! Not the greatest job security, but still...I'm glad that I have at least two years before I have to figure that stuff out!

I'd love some advice/tips from anyone who's experienced the "graduating" experience. I'm more than ready to take on the real world, but it's a little scary to think about! Life is good here, CRAZY busy but good. I'm excited, nervous, the works. Hopefully I'll make some good friends in Lubbock, because I'll sure need them! Can't wait to move up there in August, and start the next chapter of my life...wow, I still can't believe this came so fast...