3.2.1. It’s officially the countdown. We seniors have less than a month to graduate. Seriously, where did the time go? I remember taking my first steps into the university with apprehension and excitement, and now that I am coming close to my last, I am feeling these same conflicting emotions.

In these last moments, we compare ourselves to others and give ourselves a nearing heart attack. She has more credentials than I do. Why didn’t I join that club? Why didn’t I do more internships? Why didn’t I do more? Why? While the one that we are comparing ourselves to, is thinking the exact same thing.

We are afraid of having to become a “true” adult. We are afraid to fail. We are afraid that if we try our hardest, we will never be good enough to succeed. We can’t put ourselves out there because we don’t know what we are doing, and what if? What if? What if?

What if is right. You will probably get rejected a few times from a job. You might take a position to find that it wasn’t for you. You will be underqualified against those you find to “have more” than you.

What I can tell you is that no matter how hard you try, you will never be the person you are trying to mimic, and why would you want to be? Only you can answer that question.

What I also can tell you is that failure is an absence of trying. We all fail. We all mess up. However, what we are measured by is not that we failed but rather, the fact that we were willing to get up, shake off the dust and try again.

Isn’t that how we made it this far? We are almost at the finish line.

No matter what situation we seniors have gone through with classes and extracurricular activities.

No matter how many times we wanted to give up.

No matter what people have said or those who did not believe we would be where we are.

We did it, and that is the moment of excitement we have been waiting for.

That moment of excitement will outweigh all of the heartache and all of the struggle. For that one moment, everything else will seize to exist. Look forward to that moment. Embrace and take a hold of it. Moments like this are priceless.

We are the Class of 2016, and no one can take that away from us!

-Jas