Last semester of senior year can consist of a mixture of feelings. I in part, am anxious to be finished, afraid to be finished, and attached to Bryn Mawr. Who could not be? I have been here for four years, and Bryn Mawr has caught my falls, my moments of standing up tall, my laughter and my tears. Memories have been engrained in me here- some great, and some not so great.

So, here is the winning question for every five minutes: “What are your plans for after graduation?” Part of me wants to reply by saying that I have been accepted to the Graduate School of my mother’s couch. While many of us super women here at Bryn Mawr have a very detailed plan to follow their life after Bryn Mawr (which I of course admire), others, like myself can be more near sighted.

I am focused on performing my best until graduation in order to ensure that graduation comes by smoothly. My head is so buried in books, as I am sure everyone else’s heads are too. Thesis absorbs you. Luckily, all of our departments encourage us to write about something interesting and exciting. But until that is complete, I will not be able to full heartedly think about what comes after here. In the meantime, I have been carrying out casual job searches. I visit the Career Development Office from time to time for job exploration and applications.

The issue is that when someone asks me the “winning question” my anxiety sets in. My heart beats faster. Whether or not the person knows it or not, as soon as I leave the conversation, I walk and make a turn at the next hallway only to pull out my asthma pump.
As you can see, I am not one that does well under any sort of extra pressure. I can deal with the pressures of jobs, tasks, deadlines and expectations depending on who has them for me. My huge focus is graduation at this point, and I must keep my eyes on the prize. I have to cross one bridge at a time.

Remember, slow and steady wins the race. I recall there being one wonderful Posse Scholar who spent ample amount of time at home after graduation. She was focused purely on enjoying her family. Soon enough, her dream job came along. Now she coordinates international conferences and travels to different countries (all expenses covered). Sometimes it pays off to go slow and steady in following your dreams.