At many of the events I have attended recently, a portion of the evening has been dedicated to honoring and highlighting the seniors involved. At
the Orchesis dance recital, the seniors performed in a special senior dance routine. At the Shakti Sangaman dinner, the rest of the organization bid farewell to their seniors with a PowerPoint presentation. Most recently, at the KASA formal, members read poems and sang songs while addressing individual seniors with personal "thank you's" and "good lucks."
It's hard to believe that it's already time to say goodbye. In just four weeks, the Class of 2007 will be graduating and then moving forward with their lives; by getting jobs, going to graduate school, or traveling the world. No matter what they do, I'm sure they will never forget their time spent at Geneseo.
Some people deem our college experience as "the best four years of our lives." While some may argue that securing careers that they are passionate about or starting a family with the one that they love may be more rewarding than attending college, no one would disagree that there
is something extremely special and irreplaceable about the college experience.
The spirit that college fosters and the relationships that we create while we are here are unique to the experience of attending a school for four years and living and interacting with a given set of individuals in a specific time and place. There is no way to possibly meet every person on this campus, but there is a sense of connection and unity regardless. We all chose to attend Geneseo in the first place, and we have all remained here over time.
It is not just our own social groups that make our time here special, but also the bond we form with people in the organizations that we devote our time to. Getting together with people in organizations allows us to meet and connect with others who feel passionately about the same issues and share the same goals regarding those issues.
Beyond just attending these organizations, it's important to get to know the people involved on a more personal level. People are individuals first and foremost and looking past shared interests is important if we want to discover the character and personality behind them. Over the past year I have formed relationships with several seniors in the organizations I am involved in. Unfortunately, it hasn't been until much more recently that I have begun to feel closer to many of the seniors who are very involved in these organizations. It's extremely sad that they are graduating so soon, but I realize how much their acceptance and openness will continue to mean to me regardless. This may seem corny, but I would like to dedicate this article to the seniors who are graduating from the executive boards of KASA, WAC and PRIDE.
Graduation is going to be very hard for many people, including myself. But we can't have any regrets or start to think that the time we had together wasn't enough. We always learn so much from the people we interact with on a more personal level, and this is knowledge we can take with us for the rest of our lives. It's never too late to get involved, but the sooner we do, the more memories we can start making together.