The World Around Me

On my journey to self-identity I have found that it is important to surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. There are a few close people that have done that for me this past spring quarter and summer. I am so grateful to have them in my life. It’s just so amazing to see how complete strangers can become such good friends over a few months. Seriously I feel like I have known these people my entire life. It sucks that a lot of them are graduating or have graduated. I wish I would have known them sooner and made more of a connection. But to that affect, I feel like I got close to these people so quickly because of the time crunch. Subconsciously I knew that we only had a few precious moments together therefore I had to work quickly and break my own walls rather than have those people break them for me. The dynamics of my life thus far have changed so dramatically and they are definitely for the better. I don’t know how much I can stress that SPOP has saved my life. It is because of the people I have met, that I am alive today. Not being suicidal or anything but more metaphorically, I haven’t felt alive for so long, that I have been a shell [but I mentioned that already]. It’s really nice to have that group of people who are so accepting. Sometimes I wonder if these people that I have grown to love so much will be around next year. Will they be there for me once we re-enter the real world?

It’s an interesting thought, but I’ve come to realize that the true test happens when we re-enter the real world. Our bonds that formed will be pushed to the limit as society pressures us once more. It’s a pretty scary thought to know that society is waiting for us to return to our “normal” lives because for the past 5 months, SPOP was our normal. Now, we’re about to be swept back up into the current for which we were swimming against for this long. The only difference is, is the hope that the Fantastic memories and amazing moments that we all shared this past summer will be enough to sustain us in our bonds with each other…I hope so!

I thank the people that have surrounded me for 5 months, choosing to share with me their experiences, their stories, their lives, their identities and their love. I hope this is not the end, but the beginning of a new chapter and a new challenge.