It has been far too long since I’ve updated this blog! After my last post, classes ramped up because of the upcoming Thanksgiving break and then ultimately finals. Winter break has been wonderful, just enough time at home for me to catch up on Breaking Bad and Games of Thrones before starting my last semester at JMU. It is so crazy to think four years ago I was getting my early acceptance letter from JMU and now graduation is five months away.

Many Dukes refer to JMU as “the promised land” or “the happiest place on earth” (sorry Disney). The “Madison Way” is holding doors open for people, even if they’re an awkward ten feet behind you. Or using your dining dollars to buy someone’s coffee, just because you can. I know, however, that the memories and friends I have made here will last a lifetime and I will always be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to attend this amazing university.

While I’m not 100% ready to leave the Valley, I am becoming more and more excited to see what the “real world” has to offer me. Other than moving to Harrisonburg, I have lived in the same city and same house for my entire life. The farthest west I’ve been is Tennessee and the farthest south I’ve been is to the Caribbean. I would love to see the world. I have a cousin who has lived in England, Norway, Australia, and Sudan. My roommate interned in Ghana for two weeks and my best friend studied abroad in London for a semester. All of their experiences have made me want to step out of my comfort zone a bit. I have a love/hate relationship with change. While some of the time I don’t like things to be disrupted…at the same time I have a yearning for something different. I would love to travel and experience other cultures and countries, but for right now I think moving to another city such as D.C. or Philadelphia would satisfy that craving. Of course I’ll miss my roommates and all the wonderful people I have met at JMU, but I’m also excited to see where everyone ends up. I have friends looking at Houston, Seattle, Colorado, and California and while those are big changes, they are also excuses for me to travel more!

This may be a somewhat childish analogy but recently after watching Pocahontas I’ve been thinking more about which way my “arrow” will point. For a quick refresher, in the movie Pocahontas has a reoccurring dream about an arrow spinning and spinning and she believes this arrow will show her which path to take in her life. After meeting John Smith and disobeying her father, her arrow ultimately points to saving John Smith’s life and reconciling the Native Americans with the new settlers. As a child I always saw Pocahontas as just a great Disney movie. But now at the age of 21, it makes so much more sense and has a very different meaning. Just like Pocahontas, I’m trying to figure out which path I should take after graduation. Even though I want to know right now what I’ll be doing after May, I know it’s better to see where this semester will take me.

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JMU is not just an institution of higher learning, it is a spirit, it is an atmosphere, it is… A way of life I am glad to                                                                                                    say that I have lived”