I'm so excited, I just can't hide it

Take a big whiff of air: Can you smell the excitement? The tension? The cleaning solutions from AHEC Housekeeping who just waxed the floors?
Actually, what you smell is the first day of school rapidly approaching. Wow, what a summer it has been: my office went through some major restructuring; my best friend got married in a beautiful, heart-wretching ceremony that tested the lasting power of my foundation (yes, I wore make-up!); I took a 5-week course; and I completed a triathlon. But still, I have to sit and ponder if my summer really was everything it should have been? Does everyone wonder where the time has gone?
I do get questioned all the time: Amber, why don't you take a vacation? Why don't you take time off of work? One person in particular keeps trying to send me to the mountains! While this person's heart is in the right place, her mind is not: Mountains do not cut it for me, sorry G.
So here I am: One week away from the first day of my last undergrad semester and where am I? At work on campus, where I have watched my summer fly away.
The good news is that this is my last semester. After December 14th, I will have completed my undergrad. That is surreal.
Everyone could read my earlier posts, where I discussed my road to Metro. I never imagined that I would be graduating from Metro. Sometimes I even wondered if I could do it. It is like running a marathon, I suppose (haven't done one yet, so I can only guess). You run and run and run, full speed or slow jog. It is difficult to focus on crossing the finish line when you are only 3 miles in the race; it can be hard at the 10 mile mark. I guess what I am trying to say is that earning a bachelor's degree is like a marathon: You just have to keep going at it, keep taking classes and passing finals and reading books. Before you realize you will be at your final semester, you look back at everything you've done and say "Wow".
"Wow, I really did it. I really am graduating."
But you aren't even done yet: You still have this final semester looming over you and you want it to be your best (academically and socially). You want straight A's; you want to form a club. Pretty soon, it is Thanksgiving Break and you are stressing about finals because as all college graduates know, every test counts.
And don't even get me started on Commencement. This event will make you cry. I have been at the last 5 ceremonies and I cry at every one of them. If there are any seniors that are planning to graduate this December, I beg you to attend Commencement. Even if you and your family leave after collecting your diploma cover- you still need to attend this ceremony. To hear 'Pomp and Circumstance' as you walk into the Hall at the Colorado Convention center and see 10,000 people staring at you as you walk onto that stage to receive your diploma (well, just the diploma cover) is a feeling that leaves you awestruck. It really does cap off your college experience. Besides, it is amazing to have the faculty, the Deans, the Vice Presidents and the Board of Trustees members congratulate you on a job well done...... Who could ask for more?
Which is why I am counting down the days until Sunday December 17th (the actual day of Commencement; the Fall semester is scheduled until Saturday December 16th).


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