I think my real last first hit me last night. Bookstore basketball, not just for drunk freshman anymore.
Regardless, "senioritis" has hit me hard.
Standing in the pouring rain, actually physical, athletic domination in the pouring rain, made me realize my time here is almost up. And it's not just Bookstore. Everyday for most seniors is a realization that it's time to move on; reality is just a few steps away. But Notre Dame is a place that allows seniors to revel in their final moments: Bookstore Basketball is just one of those moments. Last night my best friends since the first day I stepped on this campus showed our athletic prowess; was it pretty, of course! We faced the No. 6 ranked team, and did we dominate? Is that even a legitimate question? Of course we dominated, the score however may reflect otherwise.
I think that the thing I fear the most is today's date. Sure it's April 1, April Fool's Day, the Abusrder is released upon the world, big woop. April 1 signals the last full month for seniors on this campus. Raise your hand if you aren't ready for graduation. I'm guessing that 99.9 percent of my class isn't ready to see May 17 knock on their door.
So for those who may have dominated their final Bookstore game, but failed to advance to the next round of Bookstore, here's a few "lasts" I encourage you to partake in:
1: Skip a few classes, come on you know you aren't really paying attention anyway.
2. If you live off campus, return home, your Home under the Dome that is. Pay a trip back to where you grew up - be it where you first got in trouble or where you figured out who you were. Your Notre Dame dorm is home, nothing else will replace it.
3. Unemployed; who cares? Welcome to the world of 2009. We're graduating in a world nearly as bad, if not comparable to our grandparents. 2009, may well be the beginning of the next Great Depression, but don't take my word for it. Last week, I (a finance and English major) took a little survey for Mendoza College asking if I was employed. The answer: NO. But that's because I'm pursuing a "professional" job, like that of an actor or singer. Do I have the talent? You bet I do! Realistically, I measure my talent as a journalist, not exactly Mendoza's standards. But the percentage of business majors unemployed this year is incomparable to previous years.
The point is, graduation is about 50 days away. Have you figured out your life? If you have, congratulations. The rest of us haven't. Just enjoy these last few days. Revel in the friends you still have from freshman year - KR, Hannah, Megan , Becki, VyVy, Bilek, Jac - I love you to death. It's these people who will define our four years here (if you were lucky enough to make it out.) The memories you made in the past aren't likely to fade, they'll just repeat themselves.
Don't forget how you started your life here, it's most likely how you will end it.
