This past Monday, I attended my convocation and have officially graduated from University. For a while there I wasn’t sure if this day would come…I can chalk it up to my tough program all I want, but the fact is that I was far more interested in building relationships than getting good grades in my early years at university. Can you really blame me? Probably yes, since my parents paid for me to get an education, not make friends. But I pulled it all together in the end and managed to achieve both…snaps!
I’ll never forget my first day at university. I still remember my outfit, and am not entirely appalled at my choice of first-impression clothes. My hair white blonde and my skin tanned from a summer at camp, I timidly entered residence. Who knew that I would leave university less six inches of hair, but rich in confidence and memories. That year in residence was my favourite year of school, and I wish I could re-live it forever.
Friendships have come and gone over the past four years. I have come to realize what a true friend is, and how to be one myself. I have tripped and stumbled through awkward encounters with acquaintances and lost friends, and I have learned the do’s and don’ts of housemate interactions. I have drifted from some that I clung to at times, and have grown so incredibly close to friends that I am confident will be with me for life.
I have learned how to get by on my own and be independent, yet have also learned how to maintain this sense of self while dating someone. I have experienced (relatively) long distance relationships, and learned the hard way that success lies in a perfect balance of independence and reliance on another person. This balance has been hard to come by, but I can finally say with confidence that I (and my current, wonderful boyfriend) have fallen into a healthy and stronger-than-ever relationship.
Perhaps undergraduate life isn’t all about grades. Before you bite my head off (because obviously this statement is questionable), take a look into your years at university. While it obviously felt good to get that A I spent 4 years in pursuit of (thanks, pols department), and I’m sure it feels AWESOME to have earned that acceptance to grad school or an incredible new career (I wouldn’t know), I am certain that little of that will matter when you reflect on your undergrad in years to come. Things have a way of falling into place. Six months ago I would have laughed if you told me I would be working for a retail company and on the road to a real person job. While I likely should have placed a stronger emphasis on getting stellar grades (sorry, Mom), I feel that I would not trade the relationships I built and the sense of self that I gained at university for the world.
I am not a party animal, and I am not a library dweller. Despite my in between status, somehow I managed to meet some of the greatest people I know, and create some of the greatest bonds and memories that I will cherish forever. The maturity that I gained at university came from interpersonal experiences, and I am still learning how to be the person I want to be every single day.
Thank you Queen’s University. My years at school introduced me to lifelong friends, taught me to live independently, left my heart broken and subsequently mended better than before, and formed a piece of the Carly that I know I can and will be. Okay, and yeah, I learned to read effectively and think critically and write efficiently. But all of that is just a fragment of the fullness my heart feels after four years of laughing, crying, and simply being.