This article is a companion piece to the "Your World Tomorrow" article. As the academic year comes to an end, The Slate transitions from one Editor-in-Chief to another. Read incoming 2026-2028 EIC Madison Sharp's piece here.

If you are currently a senior at Shippensburg University, then I am willing to bet you have been repeatedly asked something along the lines of, “How does it feel to be graduating?”

Though I am growing increasingly tired of this question, I have to admit I have asked my fellow seniors the same thing countless times.

The responses I have gotten thus far have varied from “I can’t wait to get out of here” to “I can’t believe it’s already over.” When I ponder my own answer to this question, only one word comes to mind — bittersweet. 

I know a lot of people can relate to the feeling of drowning in work this semester, more so than any other. Between The Slate, classwork and my photography business, I am fighting a losing battle to stay ahead.

I worked hard throughout college so that I would only need to take eight classes my senior year. But despite my seemingly lighter courseload, this year has been more difficult than I ever imagined, so much so that I withdrew from a class for the first time.

Though my final year at Shippensburg has hardly gone as I imagined it would, I have learned many important lessons that I will carry with me the rest of my life, the most important of which is how to say no. 

I am a people pleaser who loves to be around people. If you ask me to do something or invite me to hang out, there’s a 99% chance I will say yes. But I quickly learned how important it is to take time alone to recharge when my calendar was so full that I barely had time to breathe.

The fear of missing out ruled my life for a long time, and it still overrules my need for rest some days. But I am learning to be OK with the silence every once in a while.

This past year has also taught me that it’s perfectly OK to go out and do things on your own. When I could not find anyone to go on a trip for spring break with me, I decided to just go by myself.

I ended up in Nashville dog-sitting for a family that I had never met before, and I can honestly say that it was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on, even though I was there during a tornado warning. 

I know it’s a big leap for most people to stay in a stranger’s house by themselves, but I’ve come to realize that if I’m always waiting for someone to go with me, then I might never go at all.

Last but not least, I have learned to be more grateful for the life that I have been blessed with. While I am struggling to stay ahead of my work, in the grand scheme of life, that’s hardly a bad problem to have.

I am alive, healthy and surrounded by family and friends who care about me. So many people cannot say the same, I am learning not to take any of it for granted.

With less than two weeks until graduation, my time at Shippensburg University is coming to a bittersweet end.  

While I am eager for what comes next, I know I will deeply miss the routines, friendships and moments that shaped me over the past four years. This chapter of my life may be closing, but the lessons, memories and growth I have gained here will stay with me long after I leave campus.

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