Final semester? Yes. Already over? Not yet.

By: Steve Campbell

Posted: 2/4/10

A scary thought popped into my head at exactly 12:00 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2010. After the countdown to the new year ended, a giant "2010" showed on the screen. That's when it hit me: this is the year I graduate from college.
Of course, I've known 2010 would be my college graduation year ever since I figured it out in about 6th or 7th grade, but seeing those numbers jump onto the TV screen put a shock into me and reaffirmed that it is here and my college days are coming to an end in a few short months.
It doesn't seem like that long ago when I came for orientation back in the summer of 2006. Dr. Ed Rogalski, then President of St. Ambrose, welcomed us to our new home as the Class of 2010. Back then, this year seemed like a long time away, but here it is and it has come quicker than I could have ever imagined.
Since I have no plans to attend graduate school, it is an odd thought to think that this is the last semester of my schooling.
For the last 16 years of my life, I have spent late August-May in school. Now come this May, I will (hopefully) never again have to sit through a class, write a research paper or study a weekend away in preparation for a big test. But also without those things comes a brand new experience. Sure I've worked 40-hour weeks before, but I haven't done it 52 weeks a year. I've also never had to decide for sure what I want to do with the rest of my life. It's always been a question I get asked, but I never officially needed an answer. Now, I have tons of ideas in my head, but the question is which one do I want to follow and see what shows up around the blind curve.
That blind curve is a new experience. For as long as I can remember, I've always known what was next for me. Even as high school neared its end, I knew college was the next step and that I wanted to study broadcasting and communications. Midway through my senior year of high school, I had it figured out that I was headed to St. Ambrose so that next step didn't really affect me at the end of high school. Even though it would be a different step, I still knew where I was headed and had some idea of what was in store.
Now I'm at a point where in just over three months, some big questions will need an answer. Those questions are where will I be and what will I be doing? Only time will tell which makes it an exciting, but also scary part of life. The unknown is always a tough spot to be in.
Over winter break, I went to the dentist and she asked me a few things about school and I told her I wasn't sure if I wanted to be done with classes and tests or stay out of the real world. She then told me she could've been a professional student because she loved her time at college so much. I don't think I could pull the student part for too much longer, but I definitely have enjoyed every second of the college years.
But before I get too far ahead of myself, there are still a few months left of college and it is time to make the most of it and enjoy my last semester.
So let's not think of this last semester as the beginning of the end, but instead as a reminder that time flies when you're having fun so we need to take advantage of the time we still have left. There is still plenty of time to make some memories and enjoy college before the nine to five work life kicks in for good.