10 Feelings I am Feeling Right Now

As graduation is less than three weeks away I am feeling a wide mixture of feelings right now. Feelings of nostalgia, thankfulness, anxious and so many more. I thought putting Into words how I feel would be easy, but it was actually a lot harder than I thought. Therefore, I found that an acronym really helped me to put my feelings into words.

1. Gratitude: I feel thankful for the friends I have made and the people who I have chosen to surround myself with. I am very blessed to have a wonderful family, incredible friends and the best school in the word, UNC-Chapel Hill.

2. Reflection: Over the past semester I have been doing a lot of reflecting on what I have been through in my life and how it has made me who I am today. I feel like I think of my life as a journey and that I have realized that a lot of things that have happened in my life have come full circle this semester. I really do believe that everything happens for a reason and that has become even more clear to me as graduation approaches.

3. Anxiety: Although I have worked on my anxiety a lot, I still feel that it creeps up in my current life. I think I have a tendency to get very overwhelmed when I feel not in control of my life. As there is three weeks until graduation I find that my life is slipping away from me and I am trying to do it all 100%. During this time of celebration and finishing out my last college classes I will ever take I have felt anxiousness because I don't want to have any regrets in these last couple weeks. I want to live my life to the fullest and leave UNC-Chapel Hill with a full and satisfied heart, which I know I will.

4. Development: I think that I have developed a lot over these past four years. I am definitely a different person than I was when I was a freshman. I think that this school and the people within it have molded me into the individual I am walking across that stage at graduation.

5. Unique: This senior year has truly been unlike any other year because of COVID-19. There has been some lows, but I would have to say that the highs outlay the lows. I think that despite all odds, this senior year has been my favorite year at UNC. I think that I have never been more happy in my entire life and I think it is because I finally feel like I know who I am, I own who I am and it radiates to others and to myself.

6. Anticipation: As graduation is coming faster than I can blink, I am anticipating so many things. How am I going to feel when I take my graduation pictures? How am I going to feel on graduation day? Is everything going to live up to my expectations? Am I going to be disappointed?

7. Tradition: I think I am someone who has always loved traditions. Not only did my parents raise me with a lot of traditions, but both Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill, Saint Mary's School and UNC-CH all have a ton of traditions that I hold dearly in my heart and cherish. These traditions are what make these elements of my life very special to me.

8. Involvement: I have this thing about me where I want to be involved in everything, and I mean E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G! I think this manifests itself in my Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), which means that I do not miss out on nearly anything this senior year because I don't want to experience wondering should I have gone? Or what could I have done differently? I think this has positive and negative side affects, but the positives of it are that I have been involved in everything I can on and off campus at UNC this senior year.

9. Openness: I think I have worked a lot on opening up to my friends and family this year about what I am feeling in that moment and thing that have happened in my life. I think this has made me feel like an even stronger person because when you are vulnerable you build stronger friendships and grow closer to the people you love.

10. New beginnings: After graduation I will be moving to Austin, Texas to pursue a career in sales. I am both nervosa and excited for this venture and can't wait to start this new phase of life. However, starting a new phase of life means leaving the old one behind, which can be very daunting. I know I will always love the people I have met during the entirety of my life in North Carolina, but I know I will also love the new friends I will make in Austin.

If you didn't pick up on it already, my acronym spells graduation which is the season of life I am in right now. I will continue to enjoy and cherish each and every moment I spend during the next period of time until I graduate and embrace the feelings I am feeling when I am experiencing these precious moments.