Loveliest Village

Auburn really is the loveliest village on the plains. It is lovely in every way. Lovely people. Lovely memories. It was the most lovely 4 years of my life to date.

I remember crying in my car as I was packing it to move home after freshman year (can you say dramatic?) No part of me wanted to leave freshman year behind. The tears might have also been helped by the 100 degree weather, my car battery dying a mile from my dorm, my cell phone shattering on the ground, and AAA taking an hour and a half to come to my aid. Once my car was jumped, my roommate and I drove to Arby's, bought a chocolate milk shake, and cried some more. I vividly remember her shouting from the back seat, "Why do bad things happen to good people???" Our behavior was mostly a side effect of the heat and living in an all girls dorm for an entire year. But we were also deeply mourning the passing of freshman year because we felt blindsided by the ending since we were so caught in the delight of the moment.

I have been dreading the moment I would graduate and leave Auburn since I moved in freshman year. I thought they would have to drag me kicking a screaming with Toomer's Lemonade in my hand all the way down highway 280. But graduation came and went. It was fun and weird all at the same time. But it didn't ache as bad as I was expecting it too. Right now I feel in that limbo that kinda reminds me of the fog you feel after finishing a great book. You know you can't read it for the first time ever again, but you are so blown away by the thrilling plot that you are glad you read it. But you wish you could do it all over again with the same ignorance as when you first picked it up. Post graduation fog seems kinda similar. I am so thankful that I was able to go to such a wonderful school and complete a degree which will lead me on more exciting adventures. But it also feels weird that it is over, and I know I can never go back and do it all over again. I know the next book I pick up and read will be new and thrilling in its own ways, but its sad to put a novel just finished back on the shelf.

But... I have heard the post grad blues wear off in due time. When saying goodbye is hard it means you had something valuable make an impact on your life. So thank you Auburn for the endless laughs, memories, and Arby's milkshakes in the hard times... and cheers to remembering old stories even as we open a new one.