Senior Retirement

By: Tessa Kielbasa

Photography Editor

I came to college with the sole purpose of graduating. I have been ready to graduate college as soon as I stepped onto campus 4 years ago as a naïve freshman.

School isn’t for everyone and while I like to think I am good at it, I think most of the work we do is busywork that professors give us to provide us an impression of learning.  

With that being said, as graduation approaches (in less than 100 days), I am beginning to realize the impending doom of heading out into the real world. 

I am a washed-up second-semester senior who has lost and who will lose control of things she spent four years building.  

Standing outside Seton Hall in August of 2015, I was a terrified kid from Massachusetts with no plan, goals, or a clue as to what she was doing. 

However, as my connections to campus grew and I formed relationships with people I will never forget, I began to develop a future for myself that will hopefully pan out after graduation. 

Over four years I lost friends, gained some absolutely amazing ones, and have had experiences that changed my outlook on life, that I wouldn’t change for the world. 

I found the organization on campus that would become my home and make me the person I am today. Through my sisters’ support, love, and guidance they gave me the courage to find an actual path in my major, and to pursue projects and outside activities, including the Spectrum.

Without the faith they put in me, I never would have been able to hold my leadership positions, including leading my sorority during one of the most difficult years of my life. 

While my presidency was difficult and every curveball that could have been thrown was thrown my way, I realized how much I loved working for the betterment of my Greek organization. 

Every choice I made for a year was devoted to making sure it would work for the organization and for my sisters. 

Since passing the president’s badge on to my successor, it has been difficult to step down, but I have complete and utter faith in the woman who has been chosen to lead the chapter to success.

Part of training the new officers in any capacity is making sure they have all the information, but also allowing them to find out who they are going to be in that position. 

They need to learn everything you did while doing the job. That’s an important lesson for anyone holding a position. Don’t just leave them in the ocean to drown, make sure the life preserver is nearby to bring them to shore if need be. 

Being a washed-up second-semester senior gives you a new outlook on life. Things no longer seem as dire as they once did. You can sit back and relax slightly more, knowing you did your job. It’s time to step down and enjoy the next stage of your life. 

My friends think I have been given my life back, as it is no longer controlled by running a chapter. 

However, I see it as I am in retirement. I did everything I could and now it is time to move aside and let the new generation have their shot. 

I am hopefully moving on to something different and possibly better. While most people’s retirement involves golf and moving to Florida, mine will revolve around figuring out how to be a functioning adult and how I am going to pay my bills post-graduation. 

My college experience has been incredible, and to my sisters and to everyone else who affected me in the past four years, for good or for bad, thank you. I appreciate it all. However, my time has come to move on, hang up my backpack, and retire. May 12, 2019, can’t come soon enough. 

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