It cheesy, but...

Graduation and beyond
As one of four graduating seniors on the Red Skies staff, I wrote about my experience at Salem State and what's going to happen after all this is over.


Two weeks are all that separate us graduating seniors from the real world. Sure, we’ve had a taste of it, living on our own in the dorm rooms or apartments, having jobs during school and during the summer. Having narrowly avoided the real world by making it into college, I had armed myself with plans: plans for jobs, plans for grad school, plans for my own apartment. However, despite these well-laid plans, I find that I’m starting to question my real world skills. Although I can brag about having read excerpts of world literature and write a great research paper the night before it’s due, I’m not sure these are exactly marketable skills.
Any state college offers an English degree, and Salem State happened to be just far enough away from home that I didn’t feel too dependant, but I could still get some laundry done. My first semester, the balance between school and work slipped, as I spent final exams, which always seem to coincide with the insane holiday shopping season, in a state of madness that I’ve never reached again.
By my sophomore and junior years, I began to find a balance here at Salem State College. This year, I managed to wrap up my course load without much trouble-although I went over allowed credit load each semester, although I never got near the lunacy of junior year, when I held down over 20 credits. In addition to my school work and my job, which I held steadily from sophomore year ‘til the store’s unexpected closure this March, I managed to find time to partake in a few activities. Usually I’m not much one for the extra-curriculars, but I found a place for myself at Arnis, a martial art that originated in the Philippines borrowing and adapting from other martial arts, typically practiced with two sticks.
Days, semesters, courses fade together now as I look back, though a few events stand out to me. First year, after that horrible holiday season, I realized that I hadn’t stopped to take a breath from work and school since I started working at 14, so I took a summer off and reassessed my reasons for working. The summer of sophomore year, I lived off croissants and jus d’orange in Quebec City, and learned that cell phones, and cars, and rushing around are not required ingredients in a decent life. I found that plans aren’t the best way to do things; just wandering around the city led to some of my best experiences there. Junior year, I found the courage to don sweatpants and go see why all of these students were walking around with sticks.
The recent tragedy in Virginia brought home how lucky I am to have so many great classmates and professors, many of whom I’ve known for several years. I look forward to calling these professors by their first names soon.
Just like with acting, for every writer earning their bread at by actually writing, there are 99 writers who earn their bread waiting tables. I know if I get a job in publishing for the first few years, I’ll be judged by my WPM and skill at remembering coffee orders instead of any independent thinking skills I might have. I might not get to fulfill all my plans for a while, but I think that my time at Salem State has helped me on my way.