Yesterday was Furman’s Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2015. I’d like to say I was ready for it when it came, but to be honest, I wasn’t at all. I have adored my time at Furman more than I ever thought possible when I moved into Blackwell Hall in August 2011. At the time, I was terrified of what college would be like, afraid to be so far away from home, and most of all, uncertain of whether or not I had made the right decision in choosing Furman.
Yet now, when I reflect on my time at Furman, I know most assuredly that choosing to attend college at Furman was the best decision I have ever made. Furman gave me the world: it changed my career aspirations, it allowed me to study away and take on fantastic leadership initiatives and internship opportunities, and most importantly, it is where I met my wonderful friends. So how could I ever then be ready to leave behind a time that gave me so much? I’ll tell you the truth. I wasn’t, and I still am not. I cried (several times…) on the day of graduation, and many days prior, and today when I moved out of my apartment in North Village and into my new home in Columbia. But I have realized that all of that makes sense – as one of my most respected storybook characters, Winnie the Pooh, once said: “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard!” Saying goodbye to my home at Furman only means that I valued my time there more than I ever could have imagined.
I have always known that my time in college, at Furman, was set long before I arrived. I had 4 years to make the most of while I was there, and having completed those 4 years, I truly believe I did. I am leaving college with no regrets, only wishing that my time at Furman had not gone by so quickly. But I am taking great comfort in the fact that while my time at Furman was finite, the friendships I made at Furman are not. I know that I will have the love and support of my Furman family for the rest of my life – infinitely.
They say it’s always better to leave something before you are ready, because then you will always reflect on your time there with a sweet fondness and a sort of wistfulness that preserves the memory of that place exactly as you loved it. I believe this to be true of my leaving Furman. I wasn’t ready, but that only means my time there was so organically beautiful – utterly irreplaceable.
When I left Furman today, I thought of another set of Winnie the Pooh’s remarkable words – words I don’t think I understood until I passed the Furman mall sign for the very last time:
“And by and by, she came to the end of things, and she was silent, and she sat there,
looking out over the world, just wishing it wouldn’t stop.”
Thankful for all that Furman gave me, and wishing present and future Furman students all the luck and joy in the world!
