bittersweet goodbye

I know this blog was supposed to be about Europe, but I thought I should at least document me officially being done university, since it's the first step in my travels. I did it. I finished. I have to pack up my room later this afternoon, and say good bye to everyone that have become my family over the past four years.

I was so excited to be finished school, getting tired of the same routine, the same venues, the same stories, but now that it is finally over, I have been hit with a wave of sadness. When in my life am I going to live only minutes away from all my friends, sit in a house with a group of girls my age, and walk into a bar or party and know everyone there. Probably never. I guess that's the experience though, and now it's time for the next thing.

I'm going to miss student life A LOT. I have learned so much and grown as a person over the past four years. I don't even think the me of 2006 would even recognize myself today. So much has happened in the past four years, some of it changed me for the better, while other things were tough to get through, but in the end made me a stronger person.

I feel like my experiences at university outside of the classroom have gotten me a little more ready for the "real world", whatever that may be. So here's to change, and here's to beginning the next chapter in my life. Scary, but it had to happen eventually.

I will miss you McMaster University - the people, the falling apart student house, and the smell that distinguishes this city from any other one I have lived in (ew).

Next stop: Oshawa for a month of work, then Europe!