This past weekend I went to BU’s (my alma mater) graduation to hear Eric Schmidt speak. I had been planning on writing a “one year later” reflection post on Sunday after attending, but as you can tell it’s now Tuesday and I’ve just gotten around to it. For some reason, I was having a hard time putting together what exactly I felt. Sure, it’s been a year since I graduated college, but I don’t really feel any different than I did this time last year. By all normal standards I’m a fairly successful college grad: I have a job (in my field of study), I pay my rent on time, I’m not living off my parent’s…etc. But for whatever reason I still feel like I’m in an extended internship. Like I will wake up one day in the near future and go back to school and the life I formed for myself 5 years ago when I moved from Kansas to Boston.
I remember when I was younger I would always wonder where I would end up going to college and what career path I would have. In 4th grade I decided I wanted to move to New York and I wanted to be an author. I even dressed up like Judy Blume on career day (literally every other girl dressed up like a ballerina and no one knew who I was in my mom jeans and turtleneck).
Schmidt’s speech was great, full of all the expected inspirational quotes, but I felt my motivation slip away as I walked further away from the campus and my past life. Just when I was starting to get back into a slump (it’s been a rainy week again) I received a greater (and unexpected) inspiration at work. The museum I work at recently received a large donation from a local collector. The donor came to the museum yesterday, and while we were all congratulating her on the excitement surrounding the gift, she gave us some life advice: to open ourselves up to new experiences. Her story is a great one (and one I was already familiar with before meeting her), but actually standing in front of this truly adorable, generous, lively 73 year old woman, reminded me of all I had in front of me, all that was yet to be discovered. If you would have asked me 5 years ago where I thought I would be living and working, I would have never in a million years guessed where I am now. It’s slightly terrifying imagining what the next five years has in store for me, but if I remember to open myself up to those new experiences and take what life has to offer, it will truly be somewhere great.
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