I swear to God, and I know that y’all will be skeptical, but I swear to God I’m getting old.  O.K., maybe not old old.  But age is relative, I am certainly aging, and recently I have been forced to reflect on the many complications that come with my advanced age.  

One such complication is graduation.  I will graduate in January and jump directly into the workforce.  Pretty much everyone is going to do the same thing at some point (or has already done it).  My impending doom has brought with it the sobering reality that this is the last time all my friends will be in the same place.  After graduation, everyone spreads across the country.  So, my advice to the young folks reading this: treasure the limited time that you spend as a student.  College is a special time, so enjoy it; before long you’ll be reminiscing about what you’re doing right now.  

Being old has created a lot of melancholy moments. I find it hard to interact with first-years without freaking about their birth year (if you were born in 2004 you’re not real), and often think about the seniors freaking out about my birth year when I was a first-year (2000 babies stand up).  Every year brings new and absurd milestones (my youngest sister is DRIVING), and old milestones slip away (I’ve started getting Snapchat memories from six years ago).  I’ve watched people do their first mock trial competition, and I’ve watched my friends get hired for their first adult jobs.  I’ve played my last rugby game.  Soon, I’ll publish my last edition of Chips.  

One refreshing part of elderly life is the ability to be friends with other old people who are much older than yourself.  It sounds weird typing it out, but I have some good friends in their 40’s!  It’s much easier to talk to my professors than it used to be, and I am no longer as afraid of the Luther administration.  That comes with some cool realizations.  I’ve learned for certain that no one ever really “grows up.”  Adults are just like kids: some are mean, some are nice, some are objectively strange, all of them are trying to enjoy themselves, and none of them have any idea what they’re doing.  

Getting old sucks.  Your friends slowly start to disperse, you take on more and more responsibilities, and your joints start to hurt.  But it brings its own set of rewards: life is exciting, and there are all sorts of new things to try.  Your responsibilities get harder, but they also become more important.  Weddings start to happen more frequently, and they are a blast.  There’s nothing cooler than a friend having their first child, even if it means you’ll never see them again, and having your own will be life-changing.  People you know will go on to do all sorts of important things, and may have already started doing them.  Most importantly, no matter where you go or what you do, life stays an adventure.  Truly, getting old makes the world your own personal oyster.