Independent Student Newspaper of UW Oshkosh Campuses

The Advance-Titan

Independent Student Newspaper of UW Oshkosh Campuses

The Advance-Titan

Independent Student Newspaper of UW Oshkosh Campuses

The Advance-Titan

Students look at end of school year differently

If the end of the school year had a song, it would have to be “Closing Time” by Semisonic. You’re almost done writing those last papers, cramming for exams is almost coming to an end, you’re almost out of the dorms… the list of things to do is getting shorter and shorter.

Besides exhaustion, we are all feeling many different emotions in regard to it being the closing time of the school year. These feelings come in different stages, and I’ve seen a lot of them and even experienced some. So for those of you who don’t know how to feel, let this article aid you in expressing those feelings.

For freshmen, you are most likely freaking out about finals because it is the last test of your first year of college. There is also the little pang in your heart knowing that you’ll be leaving your dorm, sweet, dorm for three months before living with your best friend for sophomore year in yet another dorm. On the outside, you’re excited about leaving that tiny cubicle of a bedroom but really, that room houses so many memories.

When I moved out of Fletcher Hall last year, I looked at the empty room with the unlofted beds and closed the door, locked it and stared at Room 108 for the last time. I’m not going to deny it: I cried. I cried because that room had so many memories that I wasn’t ready to leave.

You might not feel those feelings now, but when your parents come with a UHaul and tell you it’s time to go, it’ll hit you all at once. Besides the unpacking when you get back home, the worst part of it all is feeling lonely because all the friends you made down your hall or a floor above you are now hours away. Thankfully, FaceTime and texting exist, so those friends aren’t that far. It’s only three months anyway; before you know it, you’ll be packing that UHaul again to move onto the next chapter of your college career.

For sophomores, if you are like me, you cannot wait to get out of the dorms forever. You have a lease signed, your roommates all picked out, and you can’t wait for your lease to start so that you can live with not one, but four different people who you know and love.

Finals aren’t as scary now, and you’re more concerned about getting that UHaul up here ASAP so you can get home. However, the whole fun part of college is coming to an end. Next year you’ll be taking all major classes and working on building up your resume with internships and whatever other things can spice it up. Instead of being able to go back to your dorm between classes and taking a nap, you’ll be using that time to go grocery shopping because, you know, you don’t have Blackhawk as your main food source anymore.

Your friends aren’t a floor above you anymore; they live off campus on the opposite side of town. Adulting just got to a whole new level, and you may or may not be ready for it. The stupid “I’m young, wild, and free” stage filled with tattoos that mom and dad won’t know about from Good Girl and asking for money to be sent to you every week for food is over. It’s time to grow up, boys and girls; it’s time to begin adulthood whether you like it or not.

Juniors know the end is near. Maybe you renewed your lease with all of your friends, or maybe you realized you hate all of them and you need to find new roommates. Maybe you moved in with your longtime boyfriend/girlfriend, you two broke up, you kicked him/her out and now you need to find a way to make rent.

From what people told me, junior year may be the year that you feel lost because you realize that you will be off in the real world soon. There’s something heartbreaking about growing up that is hidden behind the thrill of it. You know your senior friends look for jobs before they graduate and that’s what you need to do next. You thought you were grown up but then you begin to realize it… you never truly grow up. You are constantly learning and growing and trying to find yourself in this big world. This is the beginning of the end, so you have to make it count now.

For seniors, you made it. You graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and all the students who haven’t graduated yet envy you. Maybe you found a big-kid job, maybe you’re still looking, or maybe you have no luck whatsoever, and that means you’re going to have to keep on trying. Feel empowered.
Feel unstoppable. You did it. Thank the memories you are leaving behind, and get ready to make new ones. The world is yours… go out there and find it.

As the year comes to a close, you’ll be feeling a lot of things. Maybe it’s sadness, maybe it’s happiness, maybe it’s confusion… you’ll know when the school year is over. But I hope that you remember the time you have here is precious and has impacted your life for the better. Embrace the end of the school year, whatever year you are. With that, I hope you all have an amazing summer.

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