I’m not really one for resolutions. I mean, they’re just a ploy for people to buy gym memberships, right? Regardless, 2013 felt different than years past. Maybe it’s because this is the year I could’ve graduated.

After high school I deferred my admission to Bryn Mawr in favor of a gap year. I had worked hard in high school and wanted a little time to explore other areas (working, living in a city, interning, etc) before jumping into college. I loved my experience and wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it seems a little bittersweet now that my original graduation year has rolled around.

As fate would have it, my closest Bryn Mawr friends are in my original graduation year. While I may still linger on until 2014, they won’t. I feel sort of caught in the crosshairs as part of me graduates and the other stays behind. In the fall I, somewhat jokingly, coined this my “jaded junior” phase. But as the days grow longer and Hell Week looms closer, I’m feeling more at peace with this division in my Bryn Mawr experience. It’s time for me to carve a new path for myself as a soon-to-be senior and further decipher what mark I want to leave on this place.

New Year's Eve at my friend's Chicago apartment