Today marks the end of the last syllabus week of my college career. I am done with the days of showing up to class 10 minutes early to pick a good seat, but without a pen or paper because there was no way I was going to take notes. Never have I ever been so prepared to do nothing. On Sunday, I took my last flight back up to Notre Dame to start a new semester. I am done with swapping the 70 degrees and palm trees of South Florida for the 20 degrees and bare trees of South Bend. Never have I ever been so unprepared to do nothing. But this is my last time looking at the last times. I am done with nostalgically reflecting on the last three-and-a-half years as if I was already writing an obituary for my time at Notre Dame. It’s time to focus on the firsts of this semester. This was my first time coming back to Indiana and having to worry about my car possibly being buried in snow. It was my first time thinking about how I would get my car out of the snow. (For the record, it would resemble a combination of third-graders playing kickball and dogs digging a hole.) And it was my first time doing a celebratory fist-pump when I rolled out of the D6 lot without an issue. This was my first time going to the bars on Sunday and Monday nights. It was my first time catching up about winter break over a couple beers. And it was my first time playing trivia in South Bend. (Who knew the Gulf of Guinea was off the coast of Africa?) This was my first time running indoors, mostly because I never had to. It was my first time trying to turn on a treadmill. It was my first time failing at turning on a treadmill. And it was my first time walking out of the gym with snow on the ground. The rest of the semester is sure to bring about more firsts. It will have the first time I get published in 2014 (which is this time) and the first time I cover a high school basketball game. It will have the first time I run a half marathon and the first time I collapse after finishing one. It will have the first time I get a real job (hopefully) and the first time I celebrate getting one. So what if this is my last semester? It’s simply my first last semester.
