In less than a month, I will officially become an alumnus of the Johns Hopkins University. It is a moment that I have been both eagerly awaiting and dreading at the same time.
On the one hand, I am proud of all the hard work I have put into my education and I feel that I got everything out of it that I possibly could. This university, for the most part, does a good job preparing its graduates to handle future challenges and helps them develop the tools they need to succeed in whatever path they choose.
When I finally receive that elusive diploma, I may just have to jump up in the air and let out a giant shout of joy and relief.
On the other hand, leaving college means that you have to take a fateful step into the future and begin mapping the next portion of your life. That can be as terrifying as standing at the top of a cliff and looking over the edge.
Going forward means a lot of changes. For one, you have to first find a new job, hopefully one that you like and which pays enough for you to live on. You have to find a new apartment, with or without roommates, and start developing a new network of friends in whatever city you happen to find yourself. This process can be exciting as much as it can be nerve-wracking.
The hard part, for me and many others, is finding the right path to follow. After four years of classes, extracurricular activities, summer internships, and a semester studying abroad, it might seem like I have had plenty of time to figure out my post-collegiate career. Many of my classmates have already secured jobs in finance, won scholarships for further study, or are jumping straight into graduate school in their preferred field.
But it's important to remember that we are still young, and we still have time before our life paths are set in stone. The hardest job to get is always the first one. And in this day and age, it is increasingly common for people to have multiple jobs in different industries instead of staying with one company or sector for the entirety of their career.
Many people try to avoid this period of uncertainty by clinging to the familiar and going right to graduate school. Frankly, I don't blame them, as long as they are absolutely sure that they love what they study, whether it be Medicine, Law, or Physics. But for many people like myself who plan on throwing themselves into the working world, the next couple years are a chance to get some experience and adjust to a whole new world of independence and responsibility.
Upon leaving college, you start looking further down the road than you ever did before. Earlier in life, you think one season in advance, asking yourself where you'll be in the Summer, the Fall and so forth. Then you start thinking a year ahead, trying to decide where you'll go to College, and when you might study abroad.
But after you graduate, natural instinct makes you want to look decades into the future. You start thinking about which city you would most like to live in. You try to envision how taking one job might affect your entire career path down the road. You even start to wonder at what age you might get married. Personally, I'm thinking late twenties, early thirties, which leaves me with about ten more years of bachelorhood.
Above all, I am grateful for the friends and opportunities this university has given me. I learned more than I ever really hoped to and met people from all walks of life who have given me a greater appreciation for the human fabric, as corny as that might sound.
For those of us who are graduating, the next part of our lives may seem intimidating, but there's no where else to go but forward. To the class of 2005, may all of you find and be successful in your own chosen path.
--Ishai Mooreville is a senior international studies major.
