The End of an Era

As I reflect on the changes coming up this year, I just find it difficult to believe.  The past five years have flown by impossibly fast and it's hard to remember how I felt as a freshman coming to JBC- so naive!  I can't even imagine my life without this safe community and this amazing group of friends.  We've grown close through the years and really come together as a group.  I remember leaving home for college and thinking how scary it was to go somewhere new and how I would never make new friends.  Now as I prepare to leave I'm thinking the same thing.  I feel so close to my friends here in Knoxville- I'm worried that with the distance and with our busy lives we'll lose touch.  I know I'll make new friends in my new home, but I don't want to lose touch with old friends and our close community.  It makes me grateful for the small familial feel of Johnson and how I have been accepted into the community.  

Although I know I will eventually build close relationships in Morristown, I also know that they take hard work.  I remember feeling distant from everyone here at JBC and yearning for my friends back home in Cincy.  Now those feelings are alien to me, but I know it will be difficult to build relationships with the people I meet in my new home; even more so because everyone at JBC was looking for new friends.

Although all the changes are scary and overwhelming, I can't help but be truly grateful for so many things.  Unlike many people, I didn't have to wait in limbo for a job- it was practically handed to me.  At times I feel guilty that it was so easy, but I know I worked hard at my internship and sacrificed to drive to Morristown everyday, which enabled me to get the job there.  I really have a dream job and am so excited to start working!  I'm also grateful to have found such an amazing place to live next year.  I love my new home and it will be great to come home to a nice place everyday.  Preparing to leave JBC has made me grateful for my education here.  In addition to the relationships I've made with people here, I'm also grateful for my education.  We have some really great professors here.  Of course I am super grateful for my roommates.  Our home has been a refuge during the storm of this past year.  As I prepare to leave them, I realize how much they did for me and how much we did for one another.  They are always there when I need them- to talk, cuddle, brainstorm, goof off, help me pick out matching clothes, or take my car to the shop.  

Even though I'm leaving a lot behind, I'm looking forward to this fresh start and being able to spread my wings.

Almost Done!

In 5 Minutes we'll be done with class!