Oh the Places You'll Go...my Rite of Passage

It's hard to believe that 4 years have come and gone. While, during that time, I'm sure many people heard from me that I couldn't wait to be out, I now regret wishing my university years away.
It is nuts how fast life can pass us by. Walking across the stage made me realize that this part of my life, has quickly come to an end.
My validictorian made an empowering, thought provoking and challenging speech. He used a story from Mother Theresa about a nursing home (fairly fitting for 5 gerontology grads), MT walked into the home and was very impressed by it's accomodations, resources, and facilities. She quickly noticed though that many of the residents looked horribly sad and kept staring at the door. She couldn't figure out why they longing watched the door day in, day out. After asking the nursing staff one day, she found out that it was because they kept waiting for someone to come in and love them. He challenged us to be the next person to walk through the door and love people.
What I realized was that a door is small. While eventually everyone can feed through it, it takes going through one by one in order to effectively enter the hurting community. While many people may go on and live life having never walked threw that door, having never actually loved and been loved in return. I really realized that this is a time, now more than ever, to choose love. I don't mean love in the mushy feelings and nice emotions love. I mean RAW love. I mean the kind of love, a lot of people shy away from, because it's uncomfortable, it's messy, it means giving up on my selfish ambitions and instead, looking to the hearts of those around me. I want to walk through the door and be a person of messy love.
Last night, I went to my best friend's house, where a bunch of us gathered, with our parents and grandparents. It was an awesome time. Many of the parents had never met, but had something great in common, their kids were all best friends. Towards the end of the night, they brought out champagne and we toasted. It really was the closing of another chapter and all the while, a reopening of a brand new one.
I realize that few read this blog. But last night, on the ride home, it really struck me how lucky, blessed and fortunate I am. My university career did fly by, and there are many reasons for that. I've had the time of my life. I've met and become closer to the best people I think I'll ever meet. I have learned how to love and how to be loved. I've learned that that isn't always easy. I've learned that care requires pain. I've learned it also requires joy. I've learned that when shit hits the fan, laugh about it, in reality there's nothing anyone can do. More than anything, I've surrounded myself, or more so, for whatever you've chosen to surround me, with people who are and will continue to change the world. If not globally, individually. You've changed mine. Part of me wishes I could go back in time and do university over. I wish that I could've spent more time playing DDR, I wish I would've said YES to every plan that came my way, instead of seldomly having to say NO, because I had a paper due the next day. However, this is not the end. No, no, this is only the beginning. We've formed a beautiful community. One of friendship, laughter, some tears, joy, pain, hurt, and most of all one of absolute love. Thank you, to everyone who has invested in me, challenged me, loved me despite my monsterous ways at times, who has chosen to be my friend despite my horrible habits. Today, I'm excited to think of what's next, only because I know that whatever is next will have you there with me.
The validictorian ended by quoting Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You Will Go. I'm just thankful that I have places to go with people who love me.