5.18.2014

GOODNIGHT, GRAHAM 27

this is it.
i've settled in for my final night in graham 27. 
my final night as an RA, even though my resident-lings fled the nest days ago and i've been suffering from empty nest syndrome ever since.
my final night on central college's campus as a traditional central college student.
ever. ever ever ever.
i spent most of today packing/checking students out/eating (let's be honest) and i've gotten the majority of my little toiletries and trinkets packed away into boxes (i believe i have been blessed with the ability to somehow perfectly organize lots of little miscellaneous items into large boxes, tetris-style, with few to none point-reducing gaps in the layers) and my floor is so littered with my semi-organized life junk but i can't bring myself to pack away the big stuff;  my clothes, wall-hangings, mirror, decorative pillows - they're all still in their respective "homes," and i've decided they're going to stay that way until morning. even if that means getting up two hours earlier to get it all done and ready to be loaded into vehicles upon my parents' arrival. i just know i won't be able to sleep in here if it doesn't still feel like my home.
because that's what it is. after two years in graham 27, it's become my home.

it's here that i learned how to listen. not just hear - listen.
i learned how to not only be a good leader but also be supportive and encouraging; and on top of that, i learned how to know when to do what; when to step forward and guide and when to hold back to give others a chance to shine.
in graham 27 i helped. maybe even saved. and in those moments i don't think either the helpees or i realized, but they were helping me, too.
in this room i belly laughed, i sobbed, i worried, i proudly beamed, i prayed, i hurt, i smiled, i studied, i watched you've got mail on a daily basis.
i learned acceptance, understanding, and respect - even (or especially) of those whose views differed from mine.
here i learned genuineness and the importance of it - how big of an impact even the slightest gesture can make.
in this room i found my passion and learned how to embrace and chase after it.
it's here where i learned how to love. i learned how to open up my whole heart, freeing it from judgment and fear of heartbreak and rejection, to truly, unconditionally love those around me. 
i learned how to be me.
and i wouldn't trade that for the world.

a little piece of my heart will always belong to graham 27. and i know in the future there will be other graham 27s. other places that aide me in growing into the woman i want to become. while the moment's bittersweet (OK, it's mostly just bitter. it's heartbreaking. i'm bawling. i blame pms), i know locking up the door to graham 27 only sets the stage for a newer, bigger, shinier door to open (maybe the next one will have a doorbell!); a new adventure to get underway. it's time. time to say goodnight, graham 27. it's been a fun run. thank you for making two of my college years two of the greatest, most memorable years of my life. you were good to me. promise me you'll do the same for your future inhabitants, too. 

now whaddya say we turn on you've got mail? for old times' sake.

1 comment:

  1. Graham will never be the same without you :( I LOVE YOU....and your adorable room :)

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