A letter: Graduation

Dear you,

I am not the same person I was when I walked into Studebaker East all of the years ago. I used to have something to prove. I lost that somewhere along the way. Somewhere along the way I became complacent with putting in minimal effort. My ambition died and was replaced with a sense of...well I don't really know. I hit a wall of uncertainty that culminated in me settling for a future that I never wanted.

I'm lucky that I had a group of friends who were willing to drag me through the mud. Without them, I honestly probably wouldn't be here anymore. They helped me in ways that I cannot begin to explain. They saved me from my myself. I don't know if I can put the thoughts that ran through my head on this blog. I don't even know if I can put those thoughts into words. All I know is that the thing that saved me was the people I surrounded myself with. I could never thank them enough for what they did for me. They probably don't even know it but they saved my life. They kept me going when I couldn't keep me going and I will always be grateful for that.

I realize that this entire post makes my college experience sound awful. It is easy to look back and see all of the bad stuff. Those are the memorable things. Fights, failure and tears are all things that float around in the back of your head. It's easy to remember when you are broken, shattered into a million pieces trying to put yourself back together. That is only a part of my experience.

It feels like I have lived a thousand different lives on this campus. I felt the worst I will probably ever feel and I have felt like the most loved person on the planet. I feel like every person I have met on this campus has impacted me in some way. I can't even explain the mixture of emotions I feel when I think about leaving this place. It's finally happening. In two days I officially graduate college. I thought by the time I graduated college that I would be ready for the world. I would have a clear path with a clear destination. Well surprise, I don't have any more direction than I did when I walked into this place five years ago.

Coming to college is the best decision I ever made. Some person (who I don't know the name of) said that it isn't about the destination but the journey. That was definitely a misquote but it doesn't matter. This journey has been insane. The future doesn't scare me because I've been playing it by ear for my entire lifeIf you were part of my college experience and you are reading this, thank you. Thank you for helping me get to my destination. This may be the end of my college career, but I love a good ending.

-Brandon