COLLEGE (more specifically, undergrad)

So, it's almost over. Only one more final stands in the way of me being able to change my facebook status to "alumna" (wow, the facebook really has taken over our entire lives!) On Saturday, I will walk across another golden stage as I have completed another phase of my life that is leading me to my future. Ok, really, I'm just going to stand up and sit down when they call out my major, but you get the point. Anywho, you know what the amusing thing is about my writing this? I have a HUGE cumulative final on Friday that I should have probably started studying for last month, but here I am, reflecting on life. Procrastination prevails as it has throughout my entire undergraduate career! Oh well, my transcript still proves that I'm a genius in spite of my lack of effort. I think that's another family trait, haha! (Does that make up for my other smart ass comment, Dean?)

So yeah, it's kind of hard to believe that all this insanity is ending. I know this is a big deal, but it doesn't really feel like it due to the fact that I'm going to grad school, thus allowing me to stay within the protective walls of academia for another 3 years. No, this doesn't mean 3 more years of partying. Instead, I'm going to embark into a different kind of insanity where lack of sleep will be accompanied by lack of money, lack of personal time, lack of football Saturdays (I'm still in denial about this one) and ultimately, lack of a life. But that's ok, it'll all be worth it in the end when I force you to address me as Dr. Gray! (jk) It'll be exciting to open my story to this new chapter, and I'm ready for a little change of scenery. I will miss my roommates IMMENSELY, and leaving Athens will be very bittersweet, but all good things must come to an end, and I'm accepting the responsibilities that lie before me. At present, I have been accepted to Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, and I have an interview pending at Medical College of Georgia. I guess we'll see what happens. Of course, I'll be sure to keep you updated. ;)

Tonight, in the midst of my boredom, I thumbed through a lot of the pictures that I have collected through my college years, and it was kind of interesting to take a short retrospective journey back to the Stacy I was before I truly discovered myself. I came to college with one of my best friends from high school and with my boyfriend's class ring on my finger thinking that I was set and that the only thing I would truly need to learn would be in the classroom. Now, I barely ever speak to my first roommate (although I should note that it's a miracle that we even talk at all considering our little fallout that we had after only one semester), I've been single for the past 3 years, and out of all 122 hours worth of classes I've taken, I probably won't ever revisit any of the information that I learned in a majority of them. However, I will take the experiences, the past 3 and half years of AMAZING experiences with me as they have ultimately served as the building materials for the foundations of my character.

In the past three and a half years, I've experienced the pains of many different kinds of losses, I've had my heart broken, I've made impulsive mistakes, I've woken up in the morning regretting the events of the night before, I've learned to nurse a hangover, I've yelled until I was hoarse for my beloved football team, I've pulled multiple all-nighters, I've learned to like coffee, I grew boobs, I discovered my love for beer, I've crammed countless amounts of information in my head only to kill my poor little brain cells with alcohol, I've danced many nights away, I did my first keg stand, I've lost friends, I've gained new friends, I've mended torn friendships, I've spent approximately 704957209347502437 hours chatting online and another 23495024850475 facebooking people, I've laughed, I've cried, I've gone on amazing road trips, I've learned not to care about what I look like in public, I've made midnight runs to Kroger for ice cream, I've been woken up in the middle of the night to pick up drunk friends, I learned to play beer pong, flip cup, and Kings, I've come to appreciate my friends as they ultimately became my family, I came to appreciate my family as they were gradually weaned from my daily life, I have fought with my roommates over who should do the dishes, I've learned patience and respect for other authorities, I've learned to appreciate the money my parents have given me and how hard they've worked to make this experience possible, I found God, I found myself, and I learned to love life! Whew! I've been a busy little girl! But it's all been worth it, and I love the person that I have grown into. If only everybody could have the experience of college.......

Thanks to all of you who made this experience even more special. You know who you are.. ;)

And it's off to bed with me! Tomorrow's gonna be a long one! Love you guys!

Memories put a song in your heart....
"So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left...in Athens."
~1 Thessalonians 3:1