A Series Finale

I've finally figured out what this whole graduating/moving/leaving all my friends behind feels like.  It feels like the series finale of a television show, a quirky comedy perhaps, but one with a lot of heart.  The ratings haven't always been great but it has a loyal viewership who keep coming back, and now it's time for everyone to say goodbye.

No, we haven't been in a Sideways afterlife the whole time.  And no, no one is going to be chasing anyone to try and catch them at the airport, no one is grappling with life-altering career shuffling or relationship revelations.  But it's still an ending, and I think it's been a pretty great one.  This has been a week of "lasts", of visiting old haunts one more time, of drinking because we only have the excuse of college for a few more days, of spending time together obsessively because we're each afraid the others will disappear before we've gotten the chance to say goodbye.

As with any finale, we've had the essential moments.  The party scene, where everyone just gets drunk and miraculously nothing too regrettable happens.  Appearances from some old friends, guest stars now who've moved on to bigger and better things.  And many, many truly touching moments, moments of honesty and farewell, moments of hugs and tears, moments in which we acknowledge to ourselves that this could be The End, with capital letters.  There have been music montages, nostalgic conversations that always begin "hey, remember that time?", and major decisions that hang in the balance.  And there have been laughs-- lots of laughs, because no real comedy worth its salt can go out on a completely somber note.

Do I wish the show's run could've gone on longer?  Absolutely.  I could have been a part of this for the rest of my life, and it would have been enough.  But change is inevitable, and I knew one day this would conclude.  I don't know what's next, and I don't know all the tiny ways this experience will show its influence in the future.  What I do know, though, and what I'll always remember, is this time, now.  I'll remember this ending, and the knowledge that whatever the final lines turn out to be, it will have ended exactly the way it was always supposed to.  And I will be grateful for every moment of this experience, of every person whose name comes to mind as the proverbial credits roll.

Thank You Notes

My time in Seattle is rapidly drawing to a close, and this has been a time of copious reflection.  I've already penned a much more wistful post for tomorrow (the big day), but I also wanted to take the time to express all of the gratitude that I find myself so full of at this moment.  Naturally, I've decided to do it in the silliest possible format, with some "thank you" notes, a la Jimmy Fallon (incidentally, if you haven't seen said segment on his show, you are missing out).  Here goes:

Thank you, hipsters.  In my time here you have made it clear to me that I may be an elitist in some respects, but I'm not anywhere near as bad as I could be.

Thank you, Seattle Public Library, for never allowing my accrued fines to stop me from checking out books.  Your check is, as they say, in the mail.

Thank you, Housing Department of Seattle University, for giving me a taste of what living in a nice, three-bedroom apartment in a safe neighborhood feels like.  As a woman about to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to be a while before I experience this kind of luxury again.

Thank you, restaurants of Seattle, for having some of the most delicious cuisine on the planet.  My waistline and wallet dislike you immensely, but my taste buds do not.

Thank you, hills of Seattle, for the inevitable wave of laziness I'll be experiencing when I walk the flat streets of Chicago once again.

Thank you, Seattle rain, for teaching me that no, I cannot pull off the "casually drenched but still sexy" look.

Thank you, professors of Seattle University, for being pretty okay, but also showing me that in many cases, a doctorate comes with a heaping side dish of pretentiousness.  Additionally, thank you for either remaining ignorant or simply looking the other way when I've tried to pass off complete bullshit as an academic assignment.

Thank you, Blogger/Tumblr/Twitter/Facebook/StumbleUpon, for successfully distracting me from so much work.  I am sure you will continue to serve me well, even when I get a "real" job.

Thank you, Student Events & Activities Council, for compelling me to choose between putting 100% of my efforts into school or into extracurriculars and socializing.  I'm pretty sure I made the right choice.

Thank you, Seattle University, for giving me an education that, despite my lack of a plan, has left me feeling very much prepared for whatever comes my way.

Thank you Seattle, Washington, for being the home I've never felt I had until I came here.

And finally, thank you, all of my friends, for being the very best partners-in-crime a girl could ask for.  Thank you for putting up with all of my nonsense and endless stream of sarcasm, and thank you for teaching me so much more than you will ever realize.