Three years ago, I graduated from UCLA. I worked there and continued to take classes (Chinese) through this year. I left work just a week ago and took my last Chinese final today. For seven years, UCLA has been my home. It's where I grew up and met my husband and made my best friends. It's where I cried and learned and changed. It's strange that the next thing is happening so quickly.
This week has been a whirlwind week, heading straight from the end of work, to class, to a flight to Michigan, to home to start grad school work and study for my final. Tomorrow is orientation day, and I feel like I haven't really had time to process. Or clean out my closet. Or make salted caramel ice cream. Or plan a picnic at the park. When I'm not working or studying, I'm paralyzed by how much there is to do and see and experience in the next two months. I have a feeling this summer is going to be hard. Not just a challenging-busy kind of hard, but a being-away-from-my-friends kind of hard, a how-am-i-going-to-fit-everything-in kind of hard, a this-is-all-happening-so-fast kind kind of hard.