Today I had a conversation with a friend whom I hadn't talked to in about a year and a half. Of course, this is not an unusual circumstance. There are many people whom I have been out of touch with for a long time, and I will probably reconnect with them in future conversations. This friend happened to be my old Bible study leader from my freshman year of college. He has long since graduated, but still lives in Davis. We talked about the past memories, mutual friends, and our plans for the future. Fairly typical conversation material. Nonetheless, it was relaxing to sit in the warm winter sun and talk. Incidentally, Davis has experienced record highs in temperature for this time of year. Usually it rains pretty much daily for the entirety of winter quarter.
It's weird to contemplate life after college. For me, it will probably involve more school, but things will be different. Life in grad school is not like undergraduate life from what I hear. It is interesting to talk to my friends who have already graduated. Some decide to travel the world, others settle down in one place. Some have jobs, others are still looking. Some decide to get married, and others are comfortably single (or uncomfortably). Life after college is an infinite cloud of possibility, so I create artificial plans in order to keep myself from being overwhelmed.
The sad thing about leaving college for me is that you seem to lose a part of your identity. The friends you made may or may not be able to stay in touch with you, but no matter what, the nature of your relationship will change. You are no longer a student, thus you must switch from absorbing information to producing something that is valuable to society (or at least pretending to). I am not saying that I believe learning stops. One of the most encouraging things I have ever heard someone say is that you never stop learning. I'm only saying that the context and nature of the learning will probably change.
But despite all this, leaving college is just a form of change. With change comes a kind of loss, but it is also possible to view this as a kind of gain. I will no longer be a college student, but a (who knows) who once was a college student. In a way, I will be both, because there is still a part of me that has experienced college. Change is one of the constant characteristics of life, so it is good to embrace it. Everything is shifting, but we can still enjoy the memories of the past, the beauty of now, and the hope of the future. To quote Kung Fu Panda, a movie I recently saw and admittedly enjoyed:
"The past has already been lost, and the future we cannot grasp. But now.... now is a gift. That is why it is called the present."
How's that for some westernized eastern wisdom? I like it. :-)
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