And so ends an era....

Today, fittingly, was my last of two things. It was my last day of classes as an undergraduate. It was also my last Christmas party as a Shelver. Now, this is fitting because I started my shelving job my first day of college. It's been one of the few constants in a college student's ever-transient life. The library has, more than any other place (including the Life Sciences building, which, admittedly has captured hundreds of hours of my time), been my niche on campus. I've nearly lived out of my work locker, lived for interactions with my coworkers, and found comfort and a home in the library these last four and a half years.

It's been a major part of my college experience. Some of my best friends have come from that job, as have some of the best memories. Besides, there is something inherently peaceful about a library. I find comfort from books, from being with books. Which probably explains the multiple shelf-fulls of books we have in our little apartment. 

College itself has been huge. I cannot deny that the person I am now, leaving college, is a very different person than I was entering it. I have changed, I've grown up, become more self-aware, and, I hope, more self assured. I've grown, I've matured, and I have learned more than I ever knew at the time, or that I even know now. However, it's a transient stage and as such, it must end. As cliche as this is, one door shuts, and another must open.

The only question is... where does it go?