"It'll Go By So Fast."
(Second day of NSO 2015, agenda in hand and ID card around my neck, typical signs that scream “Hey I’m an overly excited freshman!!!”)
The crowds of people rush past me through the awkward narrow path way up to my dorm. The air is hot, and the sun is beaming down like a light bulb on a piece of lined paper, filled with messy notes that seem to look more like the waves I wish I were standing in. Instead I am in a wave of confusion. Once again, I’ve found myself in the week before Finals.
Dead week is back, and I am not ready to drown in a sea of studies.
Right across the hall is my RA Annie Lee, worried about much more than just finals. She is ambitious, intelligent, and ready to get out into the world and use the education she has worked so hard to obtain. For seniors like her, graduation is just a couple weeks away, and they are trying to start "adult-ing" as efficiently as they can. The whole "it'll go by so fast" phrase has been repeated over and over again since the first day of my freshman year back at Centennial High School in Bakersfield. And finally once again, it feels like a quick flash back to that very moment. I'm back at this beginning stage trying to make the most of everything before it flashes before my eyes just like this past year did.
Freshman year. It came, and now it's over.
I'd like to say that I'm excited for the adjustment period to be over, but in totality, this is a scary moment. It makes me eager to see what the future holds, and to see how I change over the years. It's weird to think that when I return, I'll be welcoming the class of 2020 onto a campus that has quickly become a place I seamlessly call home.
I don't want to get to senior year and forget this feeling of being a freshman, because it honestly is one of the best years yet.
So....
Dear Senior Self,
Don't forget.
Don't forget to stop by the beach every once in a while.
Don't forget to appreciate that one particular chef at the omelet bar who always manages to make the perfect 10/10 omelet.
Don't forget the awful early morning hikes up the CCB stairs.
Don't forget to cease every opportunity no matter how tired you are.
Don't forget the terrible jokes you tell on every campus tour that still continue to be said because of that one dad that always laughs.
Don't forget the first night after your parents left during NSO when you cried your eyes out in your dorm as you realized you didn't know anyone on campus, or even how to use your ID and passcode.
Don't forget the excessive amount of times you and your friends drove 30 minutes late at night just to get some Boba in Sawtelle.
Don't forget the countless all-nighters spent in the Hawc with the late night cleaning crew and the early morning Starbucks trips shortly after.
Don't forget how your roommate Anna quickly became the perfect person to live with and the most amazing blessing to have in college.
Don't forget the feeling you get when you walk out of your dorm and look at the beautiful Pacific Ocean, even as you're sprinting to your 8AM.
Don't forget the squads (shout out to GMM, DPTG, RTide Fam, O of A, Theta, SGA, DSP, E. Pen) who quickly revealed the beautiful diversity this school contains.
Don't forget the feeling of driving up to E. Pen for the first time as a confused freshman, trying to look composed because filming for rising tide started that immediate second.
And finally, do not forget the moment you submitted your enrollment deposit to come to Pepperdine. The moment you realized this had to be your home for the next four years. The moment you sat outside the Firestone Fieldhouse with your mom and dad wondering if it was the right choice, waiting for them to hopefully say yes, wondering if it would be possible, waiting until the last second before the enrollment table was closing, and shaking with excitement while driving away from Malibu Reception with a receipt and free t-shirt in hand. The moment that everything felt right because you realized that God's plan is greater than anything anyone could ever imagine.
So yes. This year went by fast and this feeling will continue to repeat throughout my entire college career. But, I digress. It may be scary, but wow it will be amazing.
Just one last thing: finding yourself is achieved when you surrounded yourself with an amazing group of people who, like you, rely on God's endless grace every single day.
This is a lesson I learned this year. This place is special.
There's something unique about walking on to Pepperdine's campus, and it's the people here that continue to amaze me. With this last blog I’d like to say thank you Rising Tide for documenting this crazy first year. Thank you freshman year for being the perfect beginning to this amazing, ambiguous, unpredictable, challenging, adventure we call "College."
I'm ready.