Danae Poteat, a now senior at the University of Pittsburgh. This is my title as of August. A cap and gown oddly haunt my future, and in some way, I don\u2019t even know how I got here. Well, of course I know. With almost 100 credits, what feels like hundreds of sleepless nights and having taken more exams than I could count on my hands AND toes, I have the transcript to prove what led me here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People always tell you that college goes by fast, and at first, I didn\u2019t believe them. I mean, why would I? How could four entire years of my life go by in an instant? So now, I\u2019ve found myself eating crow and wondering how the last three years of my life have felt like a single second. One day, I was freshly 18, moving into Sutherland West, and with the blink of an eye, I am now 21 years old with only two semesters left as a college student.<\/p>\n
This terrifies me in ways I\u2019ve never felt before. I am so scared to officially be on my own, work a full-time job, have an apartment that isn\u2019t on a college campus and finally step into adulthood after this chapter of my life closes. Now and then, the reality of this hits me, and I always have to take a moment to fully wrap my head around it. In a way, I still feel like the 18-year-old girl that I once was \u2014 full of doubt, anxiety and overall insecurity about who she was as a person.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that really isn\u2019t who I am anymore.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Now, I am a young woman, flourishing in my skin and slowly growing into the person I\u2019ve always wanted to be. Someone who\u2019s secure in herself, who knows what she wants and who is constantly evolving to be the best version of herself. That is who I am.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yes, the fear of my future occasionally looms above me like the grayest summer storm, but I know that I\u2019ll make it out unscathed, for the sun will always come out after the rain stops. There is so much that is uncertain at the moment, and instead of being scared of it, I want to try to welcome the unknown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, I know this year won\u2019t be picture perfect. There will be long clinical days where I\u2019ll question if I\u2019m prepared enough to be a nurse, exams that make me doubt myself and moments where the pressure of what\u2019s coming next feels all-consuming. But if these last three years have taught me anything, it\u2019s that I\u2019m capable of doing hard things. Every semester has asked a little more of me than the one before it, and every single time, I\u2019ve somehow found a way to rise to the occasion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I may not know where I\u2019ll work post-grad or how hard it\u2019ll be to pass my National Council Licensure Examination, but how lucky am I to know that there is greatness in my future, to have the honor of being a registered nurse, to take care of patients during their most vulnerable moments and to have the privilege of an education that has taught me how to rise to my utmost nursing potential. There is so much to look forward to these next eight months or so \u2014 how could I not be excited for what\u2019s to come?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be living with my best friend, Kat, in our first off-campus apartment. It\u2019s already a dream come true to live with the girl who makes my life brighter by simply existing. College has given me wonderful friendships, but none compare to the relationship I\u2019ve built with Kat. In every possible way, she sees me for who I truly am. I am more than grateful to live life with her. We\u2019ll graduate together, look for jobs together and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll cry together when it\u2019s time to go our own ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll experience my last year of nursing school with the same people I\u2019ve known since my first year. From taking anatomy and microbiology to now being in transition clinical and preparing for the NCLEX together, we\u2019ve grown together, academically and professionally. Being with people who know the struggle of nursing school, people who share the same passion for patient care, has created unbreakable bonds and friendships. It\u2019s comforting to know that I\u2019ll end my journey at Pitt with the same people that I started it with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With every big milestone that I have ahead, small moments matter too \u2014 minuscule, everyday things that I know one day I\u2019ll miss. Getting an iced chai from Saxby\u2019s in the Cathedral, seeing crow poop on the walk to the William Pitt Union or taking yet another sunset picture with Cathy in the background. This will be the last time I\u2019ll be a college student. The last time I\u2019ll live in my college town. The last time I\u2019ll refer to Oakland as home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As much as I\u2019m looking forward to everything that my future holds, I don\u2019t want to get too ahead of myself. Instead of trying to make time move faster, I\u2019ll be relishing each moment, wanting the clock to stop instead of moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So while graduation may be closer than I\u2019d like to admit, I think I\u2019m OK with that. College has given me friendships that will last a lifetime, a career that fills me with purpose and, most importantly, a version of myself that I am incredibly proud of. These next two semesters aren\u2019t just an ending but a beginning as well. The beginning of everything that I\u2019ve worked hard for these last four years \u2014 and how wonderful is that?\u00a0<\/p>\n