Emma Caroline Brown
Editor-in-Chief
Today marks two weeks until graduation, and this edition marks the end of a chapter, as this is my last edition as a student reporter and editor for The Spectator.
I have been thinking a lot about how my life will change after I leave The Spectator and Mississippi University for Women, and it will change a lot more than I initially expected. Routines built and refined throughout the past four years will suddenly stop, and the busy parts of my life will be filled with other projects that will be very different from student life.
Weeks spent tracking down sources, interviewing people, typing articles late at night and feeling the excitement of seeing our printed papers have officially come to an end. I have not fully processed that this part of my undergraduate experience is finished, especially since I am so used to the busy routine that keeps me engaged and excited.
I am the type of person who loves staying busy. I love the hustle and bustle of working hard, the fast thinking that comes with problem-solving and the opportunities to meet and get to know new people. So, to have a big part of what keeps me busy come to an end is strange and somewhat sad.
I will miss the hecticness of the college routine, including having new schedules every semester, taking interesting classes and staying structured to juggle school, work and life. I will have to get used to many changes once I graduate, which is a very scary thing to me.
However, I have been trying to reframe my way of thinking, even though it is hard to do sometimes. Instead of dwelling on losing routines and structure that I have built, I am trying to focus on building new routines that will incorporate new jobs and new hobbies. Instead of fearing leaving familiarity, I am focusing on the excitement of new beginnings.
Even though I tend to stress over the unknown and the scariness of starting anew, I ground myself in hope for the future that everything will work out as it should. Being worried over ‘what-if’s’ and the nervousness of having too many options — or none at all — should not be the first things we consider. I struggle with doing this, but when your mindset is built with hope, it can change how you go into new chapters of life.
We all might struggle with leaving people, places and things behind, but we should use these experiences and interactions to help us have a strong foundation as we go forward into something new.
My experiences at The W, and especially with The Spectator, will greatly help in many ways as I go into a new beginning, but I will miss the things I have become used to and really enjoy. Without this experience, I would not have made new friends, become more active in the community and on campus, and I would not have had the chance to grow as a student and person, and for that, I am very thankful.