Time never really happens in perspective. People talk about memories in terms of "it felt like yesterday" or "that felt like years ago." It's all about feel. So how long does it feel since last year? Certainly not yesterday, but it's been a while.
My roommate has an app for his Foursquare that tells him his checkins on this date last year, and right now last year we were in the middle of senior week - which I wrote about a little on here (probably about this time last year. I know, who would of guessed.) This day last year? We were at Foxwoods.
What's shocking is how while that chapter of my life is over, some of the things still remain very much the same. I'm fortunate to have moved to New York (another blog post coming on that soon. I told you I was coming back to you. That sounds creepy...), live with my same roommate for the past 4 years, have two of my other best friends here, and still keep in touch with all of my closest college friends on a near-daily basis.
It also makes you appreciate the days when you "get the band back together" - the weekends when you go visit or someone visits you. We're getting the band back together this coming weekend for a friend's birthday party in Philly, and I expect it to be an awesome time. We got together last weekend in NYC, and had another great time. Yeah, we're still not seeing each other every day/night/weekend like we did at school, and we're doing different things, we're still able to get back together and enjoy it.
I'm sure everyone's grade/high school had different experiences post-graduation, but I barely keep in touch with most of those kids. I've got two best friends, a random slew of kids I hear from/talk to every now and again with the "let's hang out soon" ender that never really goes anywhere. So I'm excited to see that I've been able to hold on to so many of my close friends from college.
Other interesting notes from 1 year out of college: I haven't been back to Boston since graduating. I honestly don't miss it. Part of the reasoning is I just kind of shrug my shoulders and say "what would I do?" And I think that's a legitimate gripe. What would I do? Am I going to go to the same 5 bars that I went to as a student? Go to the same 5 places to eat? Boston is a small enough city where there is still plenty to do, you would most likely end up doing the same thing after time. (I say that, but I'm in NYC and almost always end up in the same area. Maybe I'm just a creature of habit). Boston just wouldn't be the same without my friends.
Being unemployed wasn't fun. That lasted far too long (approximatively 7 months, with a two month break for my "temporary" job somewhere in there). It was depressing. I didn't have many friends in and around Philly. The uncertainty of if/when/how you'll get a job throws you through a loop. You're got no income, and as a result rarely want to go anywhere/do anything because everything costs money (and when no one's around to do it with, makes the going anywhere more rare). You lose your mind a bit. I probably gained somewhere between 1000-3000 pounds (numbers may be exaggerated). I grew a beard for 2 months. It's all terrible. This isn't where I blame BU for not helping me but I always felt like I was never appropriately prepared to graduate and attempt to get a job.
This isn't meant to be an "advice to the class of 2011" post. This is my personal experience. Everyone has different ones. Some of my friends got a job before they graduated. Others are still working on it. Others are doing something else to try to do what they want later. It's interesting how it all works out. I've been employed for a little over four months now, and it's been a nice transition into the "real world".
So, conclusion. A year later, do I miss school? Not really. I miss the free time and my friends, but I got 50% of that still working for me. I think I wrote this before (if not then I've had several debates on it) but college isn't real, or anything like the real world. Having class for 12-16 hours a week is nothing like working for 40+. And the idea is you motivate yourself to do other things, "find yourself etc". Reality is probably 90% of 20 year olds would rather sleep/watch tv/drink than do something else. Part of the American culture we live in. Smells like teenage spirit. But you can't keep living in a college "fantasy life" forever. Time rolls on. And you've got to keep rolling with it.
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