I had it all planned out. I was going to go to my theatre internship in the summer, complete my last semester of classes then graduate on December 8. It was a wonderful and fool-proof plan,; but then life happened. My internship fell through. No theatres were willing to take an intern for a semester with a schedule full of classes. So, I had no choice but to substitute my internship for a course in the spring.
When I found this out, I was furious. I had to stay at Asbury for one more semester for one class. I was supposed to be done! I was supposed to be out in the real world by January! I knew if I wanted to finish my degree, I would have to do this, but I have been here for three years already and had already announced during Friday Night Live that it was my last semester. It was just embarrassing.!
It wasn’t until I was invited over to my friend’s apartment to watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” that I realized how negative I was being. When Ferris’s said his famous quote, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it-” was the thing that pulled me out of my negativity. He said it so nonchalantly that I didn’t even realize the weight of it until the credits rolled, and it brought me to tears. Life was moving pretty fast and I was missing it because of my bad attitude.
Through this one class, I was given the chance to spend one last semester with my friends. To have a few extra months to plan for my future. Don’t get me wrong, the future still terrifies me. Having to become an actual adult and do adult things is something I don’t know if I’m ready for. However, I do know my internship falling through was a blessing in disguise. I was able to utilize my theatre knowledge and help with sophomore musical (SoMu), I got to write sketches for Friday Night Live that I couldn’t have done if I had graduated, and with my one class, I get to write screenplays alongside those I enjoy being around.
I remember the excitement and anxiety of moving in my first semester. Living in Second Crawford with someone who went on to become my best friend. Remember moving in your first semester? First time being away from home and living with someone you just met? Getting to interact with other students in your TAG group and finding your people. Discovering that Asbury was where you were meant to be. Yeah, that was four years ago.
Seniors, we graduate this month. After we all shake Kevin Brown’s hand on April 27, when will we ever all be on this campus together at the same time? Have any of us taken a moment to realize where we are? What we are about to leave behind? We probably will only see one another on Instagram from now on. Once we leave, that’s it. For most of us, we’ll find careers in our respective fields. Others will continue on with their education. A handful of us may even go on to become famous. There’s no telling what will happen, but let’s focus on the now. Let’s be like Ferris Bueller. I’m not saying for all of us to skip class and crash our friend’s dad’s 1961 Ferrari 250GT California, but I’m saying we need to realize the importance of living in the moment with our friends. Take a walk on campus and appreciate the beautiful trees. Grab drinks from the Hiccup and sit in the Stuce for several hours talking. Take lots of pictures of the mundane that occurs in our day-to-day. Let us soak in these final moments before this chapter closes on our lives.
Written by Allyson Stathers.