It’s my last semester on campus. Seniors, I feel your pain.

Although I am one of those annoying juniors who is graduating early, I am going to pretend I can relate to you. I will be spending the fall in Syracuse University’s Los Angeles Semester and subsequently graduating early. I’m graduating early because my high school was well-funded and offered me a bunch of APs. Plus, I’m not smart enough to pick up another major other than “make movie things.”

So again, seniors, I feel your pain of going through things in your last semester. Except I don’t have to be old while doing it. But, the feelings that come along with approaching my last semester have only begun to hit me as classes have started — and I wanted to reflect on that. Here’s the thing: I’ve noticed that most people reflect when they’re at the end of something. But, I want to reflect at the beginning … even though I guess I am technically looking forward and not reflecting, but when I say I’m looking forward to the end, people start to worry about me.

There’s a lot I’m looking forward to this semester. First off, I’m taking some pretty fun classes. My first homework assignment of the semester is to watch the movie “Shrek” — and I have two weeks to do it. Yes, that is real.

Also, I’m looking forward to more fun with my campus activities. In other years, I’ve put in hard work trying to climb the ladder into different positions within the organizations. Now that I have those positions for my last semester, I plan on enjoying them. How do I plan on enjoying them? By bossing around all the underclassmen and pretending like I know how to do everything.

Another thing those going into their last semester will have to face is leaving the people on this campus. During many of my interactions, I realize that it could be my last time ever seeing this person. In some instances, that’s a scary thing; in others, it’s exciting. For some people who I had to say goodbye to this past semester because they’re currently abroad, I let out a little squeal of joy.

A positive I’ve already noticed is that I am more cognizant when spending time with my friends. Knowing that our time is almost up together, in a way, lights a fire under me to try and make memories with these people I care so much about. They’ve been receptive to some things — like trying that new cookie dough place at the mall or going to the basketball games. Other ideas, like taking a blood oath, they were not on board with. But, I knew they were my friends because they helped me clean it all up.

Another scary thing the seniors are facing is worrying about finding a job. Or, even worse, worrying that everyone else will find a job and they won’t. But, I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m not seeing it as black and white — I’m a success if I have a job, and I’m a failure if I don’t, but I think I’ll be a success no matter what I do because I will not be paying tuition anymore. So, even if I have no job, I won’t be spending $60,000 next year, and if I’m not spending it, then it’s like I’m making it. So my salary will be $60,000 next year.

There’s a lot that goes into going into your last semester, and making the most of it is something I don’t want to screw up. From friends to activities to the chancellor’s emails to (hopefully) the snow, there are going to be many lasts in my life. After that, anything can happen in the world. It’s scary walking out into the unknown, but in addition to the world outside of Syracuse, this semester has a lot of unknowns. But, if I think about it, I really haven’t known much my entire life, so I thrive in the unknown. So, although this semester seems scary, maybe I’ll be okay. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll #thrive.

 

Josh Feinblatt is (technically) a junior television, radio and film major. He is going to walk at his normal graduation, except he’s going to pretend not to be able to walk at first, and then do the Willy Wonka fall and roll. He can be reached on twitter @joshfeinblatt or by email at jfeinbla@syr.edu.

Published on January 17, 2018 at 9:47 pm

Contact Josh: jfeinbla@syr.edu