The Winds of Change

As I write this post, I look out my office window to see the wind pulsating through the magnolia tree just on the other side of the wall. My window is open and I can hear the noises of the machinery and men who are doing renovations on and near the football stadium (my office is just across a large parking lot from the football stadium). Just outside my window, they are putting in a new green space, complete with a waterfall, picnic benches and lots of green grass. You can be sure I will frequent that green space once it's done.

There are many changes occurring on campus. These are the last few days of finals, so many students are gearing up to head home for the summer. Commencement is next week and summer school starts on campus in little more than two weeks.

There are many changes occurring in my life. I will be entering my last year as a senior (I've been a senior for the last year and half!). My daughter graduates from high school in two weeks and will head off to college in Georgia in the fall. My oldest son will be getting married in March. I will be facing an empty nest - alone. I have learned not to shun change or to run from it, but to embrace it, to face it head on.

What about you? Are you new to the world of nontrads and this is probably the most frightening thing you've ever done? Are you smack dab in the middle of your nontrad experience wondering, "What was I thinking??" Are you on the tail end, perhaps graduating this month, or maybe you are like me and have just one more year to go? Wherever you are in your nontrad student journey, you are facing changes - a new beginning, getting your second wind, putting school behind you and getting on with your newly-degreed life. The winds of change are blowing - marvel at them and see what settles out of the whirlwind! Stay tuned . . .