The final countdOwn

It's weird, this whole "this is your last Orientation" thing. What's different about this year is that I absolutely know that it's my last Orientation (and year at Stonehill, for that matter), and for the first time, I'm heading into Orientation with the end already in sight. Not sure what that means, but it's there. If anything, I think there will be this sense of a need of closure, a resounding finale to my Orientation career. I get the feeling that almost every third-year has gone through this, so I know I'm in good company, but I haven't gone through it. Thus the weirdness.

In many ways, I'm starting this Orientation the same way I started my first. Bearded and excited about the Bruins. That's about it, actually. After two years of this, I finally think I know how to prepare myself for a successful Orientation. But there's no preparing for how Orientation is going to feel. Hell, I already wrote "Goodbye, cruel world" on June 28th of my calendar, the night of Cryfest The Celebration of the Peer Mentor Team (henceforth known as "Celebration"). I have the feeling that the next ten/eleven days will be its own Celebration, almost like a victory tour of sorts.

I wish I had more to say about this, but I'll let the next ten/eleven days do the talking. I remember at last year's Cryfest Celebration saying that Orientation was like one giant Playfair. You just can't describe what it's like. I'm pretty sure that's still true now, and if it is, this Orientation will be just like each of the five Playfairs I've been a part of - amazing, incredibly in-the-moment, and something you'll never really be able to explain.