Photo courtesy of Douglas Roche III.
DOUGLAS ROCHE III | ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITOR, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER | droche@butler.edu
Dear reader,
I was not sure what the right route was in order to confidently cap off my Collegian career, and this is the best I could come up with. Sure, it is hubris to be writing to you as directly as I am. The fact of the matter is, a lot of what I wrote during my time on staff was a diary of sorts that happened to possess news value on occasion — and that I got paid Indiana’s minimum wage to share.
This article is no different, as I am unsure whether I am writing to you, myself or some blend of both. Let’s go with the latter.
This leads me to the core of what I want to tell you in this farewell: Everything you are doing is just fine. I say that because there is absolutely no way to foresee circumstances, especially those that impact you the most — who you are, what you want, where you are going and when you will be there, are all up in the air. All we can do is make our way forward. Simply put, keep doing you and you will find that everything will turn out fine.
The grief and uncertainty over the adversity you may face is justifiable. Maybe you were rejected by your first school of choice, or your dream employer is proceeding with other candidates, or the one you were certain was your soulmate did not turn out to be that. Regardless, you will eventually find that the stars will align. Especially if you are enduring the existential crisis of concluding your college experience miles away from all of those you shared it with as an unstable job market awaits you.
It is okay to look back and reflect too. Obviously there were mistakes made along the way, and there are those moments in time you wish you could redo or react to differently than you did. I think that is an integral part of the college experience. You begin to realize you are not really a kid anymore, and nobody should hold you more accountable for your actions and decisions than yourself. This becomes more and more apparent as your graduation approaches — even if it has been pushed back seven months.
Navigating through the first few years of self-aware adulthood can be pretty terrifying, I will give you that; conversely, it does come with its perks. In a setting like Butler, applying your resourcefulness will lead you to a bevy of opportunities, ones that will ultimately morph your self-confidence and understanding of reality you will take into the workforce.
Oh, and don’t skip class.
