Reflections and afterthoughts

For my final column of the semester, you may be expecting me to reflect on my first semester of college. Initially, that was my idea as well, so I sat down to write and tried to think about the past three and a half months. But, I couldn’t exactly piece together what has happened. Sure, I took a trip down memory lane and remembered the days that I lived, but that was all I could do.

To try to further describe what I mean, I’ve come up with an analogy. Imagine that during the semester, you’re in the middle of a huge herd of people. You’re always stuck in this herd, but when you have free time, you’re not completely restricted. You can float above the ground and gaze over the mass of people, but you still can’t completely escape.

I’ve learned that it takes me a while to process. I can gaze above what’s happening, and I can transition between the things I have to do, but it takes me a second to reflect. Free time during the semester isn’t enough time to understand what’s going on. I realized this over Thanksgiving break when I had several days off in a row. It happened in a way where I spent the first three days just gathering my breath and collecting my thoughts, and it was after that time of peace that my mind became settled enough to create afterthoughts and piece together the past months.

It’s a matter of looking into the past. I think a lot of people talk about how important it is to let the past go, and while I think this is true, I’ve learned that in certain situations it can be extremely beneficial to confront your past. In terms of relationships, you don’t always have to cut someone off. Keeping communication and simply checking in with someone can help you reflect.

As the semester comes to an end, I am looking forward to being able taking time to think and be fully separated from the herd, gaining a different perspective. In one of my first columns of the semester, I talked about adding bravery to your to-do list. I’d like to encourage you to add to that list: reflection. You might be surprised by how much you’ll learn from your reflections and afterthoughts.