All of a sudden I miss everyone

Now what?

When I ask that, I don't mean the whole "I'm a senior now" thing. Or rising senior, or second-year junior, or whatever. I've been preparing myself to be a senior/rising senior/second-year junior for about a month now, and while I'm sure that how I think about it now will pale in comparison to how I think about it in three months, there's something that I forgot to give brainpower to...I never really prepared myself to be without the Class of 2013. I suppose that I don't really have a choice anymore, but I wish that I had thought about this.

I haven't blogged in nine days, and that's because I've been too busy appreciating the final days of the Stonehill community as I know it - by which I mean, this particular cohort of 2,500 students. Between the first few days of summer, my brief visit at Cape Week, the final weekend, and Commencement, I really do feel a part of myself leaving with this class. For the first time, the people leaving are people that have had a direct impact on what I've come to be at Stonehill - people who have helped me to be who I am, and people who I've helped be who they are. It's an incredible thing to share with someone else, and I have the pleasure of sharing it with so many wonderful seniors who have just graduated. Graduation is a time for celebration, to take the world by storm, and to be with those who helped you get there.

Night on the Hill and the congregation between Stanger and Cushing-Martin have been snow globes of good feelings. Everyone together with the ones that they've made this journey with, making every effort to find one more reason to stay just a little longer, to remain in the snow globe as long as possible. While I too wish it could last longer, the time is now. Everything has been building up to today, to these moments, and I know that it is one of the most special days you can experience. Congratulations to the Class of 2013! It's been real, and graduation is no reason for that to stop being true.