R.E.A.L. Talk: Light at the end of the tunnel

Twenty years ago, I was taking one semester off. I was just working to save money for the next class. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. School was in the future, but I did not know when or why or how. Twenty years ago, I never would have pictured myself sitting where I am now. I did not know what was in my future.

Twenty years later and I still don’t know. I wake up in the morning and question if what I am doing is right. I think about decisions I’ve made and ways that they could have been better. I think about all the what-ifs, and trust me, as you get older there are a lot more what-ifs. I take the chance every day that one decision I make may ruin everything I worked for to get to where I am. And then I look around and see where I am.

I’m in the home stretch of my high school dream. In less than two months I will graduate from my dream school. I don’t know where my road will lead me, but now I don’t question where I have been. Every decision I made has brought me to this point, and there is no better place for me.

I have done more than I ever dreamed in the time that I have been at Tufts, and I will never forget it. I have met some amazing people and been given opportunities that my 20-year-old self would have looked at differently and may have ignored. You are reading my column because I am a writer for The Tufts Daily. Twenty years ago, I would not have even known that the newspaper existed. I have run for leadership positions that I would have avoided previously. I’m more willing to take chances because I know the reward is worth the risk.

I have spoken with other R.E.A.L. students who are graduating this semester, and the feeling is bittersweet. Many, myself included, are excited for the next chapter of our lives to begin. We will miss everyone and everything at Tufts, but there is so much to be excited about in our future. There are some who fear what will come next. What step they will have to take and where that step will lead them. Optimistic or afraid, we all know that we will be prepared for anything that life can throw at us.

The hardest part about graduating is leaving school. Some of the R.E.A.L. students will return to full-time jobs. Do we return to what we knew before or try something new with what we have learned? A tough choice. A few that I know of will put off the decision of what to do after graduating and enter a graduate program. Master’s degrees and possibly Ph.D.s are in many futures. For me, I will be attending an MFA program for creative writing.

I know my future may be blurry, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I will graduate with no regrets, no matter where I end up.