For Good.

“I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason

bringing something we must learn.

And are lead to those who help us most to grow if we let them,

and we help them in return.

Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true.

But, I know I’m who I am today because I knew you.”

MAY 12. It’s coming and it’s coming quick. And as we lead up to that day on which we will reach the Holy Grail of Higher Education otherwise known as GRADUATION, I think it is safe to say, for all intensive purposes, that this is the day of all days that many of us have been equally anticipating and dreading.

That being said, I know we have “oh so much to look forward to in the future,” but right now, the thought of getting married, settling down, having the kids, the cocker spaniel/beagle mix, the house with the white picket fence in suburbia, and the mini-van with the built-in DVD player just really does not appeal to me. I’d rather be in my cramped three-bedroom city apartment with Gina, Rachel, and Bridget, riding SEPTA from Temple to Berks and Front and then walking down Howard to school everyday where I will be greeted enthusiastically by children that are not my own, visit my dogs at home, and spend leisurely evenings on the roof of 2152 N. Broad with Kyle, Sarah, Ellis, Jason, Jeff, and many, many others while glancing at the gorgeous view of Center City.

In other words, I’m really going to miss the college good life, especially at TEMPLE, where you fall asleep to the sounds of the subway and sirens every night. I must say, I truly agree with those wise sages in the ever-classic Avenue Q who sing about their desire to go back to college. Kate Monster, Princeton, Rod, Nicky, Brian, Christmas Eve, Trekkie Monster, and Gary Coleman really had it right when they mention how simple college life is, remember the good ol’ days of dorms (shout out to 1940) and meal plans (not so much of a shout out to J and H…it was merely adequate), the life advice and overall helpfulness of advisors, and the yearning to have done more in their time there. Clearly, I relate so well to the lives of these talking puppets!

Yet, then I snap back from my reminiscing and remember the closing lyrics in the song:

“But, if I were to go back to college, think what a loser I’d be.

  I’d walk through the quad and think, ‘Oh my God?!?!

 These kids are so much younger than me.’ ”

Alas, such is life and I really don’t want to be that kid who is 42 and taking Spanish Basic 1 with a bunch of kids who weren’t even alive on September 11, 2001 and don’t understand the significance of Lady Gaga. Guess it’s time to thrive in my responsibilities and live my life the way it was supposed to be lived.

But…what is that exactly???

The truthful answer is that I don’t really know. I know it involves education in some capacity whether it’s bilingual special education, school psychology, or assessment and evaluation, and, at least for one year, involves Valencia, Spain, but I’m not quite sure what comes after that. I’m constantly in conflict with myself over what I want and how my life is going to work out and I’ve finally (with an inevitable laugh from my mother) have come to the mindset that it’s okay to not know all the details or have every last minute of your life planned when you’re 21. I don’t know if I’ll have kids, a dog, a guinea pig, or a chinchilla. I don’t know if I’ll be in Spain, Philadelphia, New York (the big dream), Montana, Alaska, or Guam. But I do know that if I end up choosing to be a soccer mom I will not drive a mini-van since I kind of want to be a MILF. And I know that I will be in a city somewhere educating kids who need me and value me.

If there is one constant that I do want in my life always, it’s YOU, which brings me back to the point of this blog. “You” know who “you” are and “you” are more than one person. You may be a badass ninja who runs around quoting “A Very Potter Musical.” You may be a soon to be student at Wesley. You may have just been accepted into Temple’s DPT program, or teaching music at Catholic schools, or doing Teach for America in Camden, New Jersey, or going to grad school at Pitt or La Salle. You may be looking for a job. You may be returning to Temple for your sophomore, junior, or senior years. You may be going to Villanova in the fall and the person that I LOVE and MISS the most from both of my tenures at PGST. You may be getting married in September or October. You may be movie back to Poughkeepsie. You and I may have a strange obsession with John Gallagher, Jr. You may be in Nigeria right now trying to figure out a date to meet up with me in London. You may be discerning becoming a Sister of Life. You may, like me, be a soon to be Fulbright ETA, but unlike me, be going to New Delhi, India (Congratulations again, by the way!). You may be one of my best friends. You may someone I don’t know that well. You may be a member of my family both immediate and extensive. You and I may have spent hours just talking in your Oxford Village apartment, many good nights at the Fox and Hound, gotten into debates over our belief systems and values, or met in line for the Allentown School District at a random job fair. You and I may have driven to Target or Wal-Mart at 2:30 am to pick up random items for 64 crazy govies, made snide comments during Model UN conferences, or spent two years together working for Jumpstart. You may be someone who believes that “Bread is your soul, passion, and expertise,” or you may be my best friend from high school who I miss like crazy. You may still be here or you may be one of the three influential people that have passed on so far this year (I love you, Poppop, Sister Helen, and Sheri.) No matter the situation I value you and appreciate you and THANK YOU. You have all been in my life for a reason and I know that I was challenged, supported, encouraged, and motivated by all of you. I am who I am today because of you. In the immortal words of Elphaba and Glinda in Wicked:

“It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime,

so let me say before we part, so much of me is made of what I’ve learned from you.

You’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart.

And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend.

Like a ship blown from its mooring by the wind off the sea.

Like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood.

Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?

But, because I knew you, I have been changed FOR GOOD.”

I wish I could have put pictures of everyone up, but that would have gotten obnoxious. It doesn't mean I love you any less, it means I ran out of space. :-)