Today is the first day of school

...And I'm not going. I NEVER have to go again. 

And I'm sad about it. 

I never thought I would see the day. I wanted to graduate more than anything in the world. Pushed my way through classes in a mere three years and said see you never to the REC and library fees that I visited once each. Even last night as my roommates packed up their bag and debated bringing actual supplies I wasn't sad.
Life seemed great!

This morning however, it was not so great. When you aren't in school any more you aren't a college student. Well duh! Like that isn't the quote of the year... but what I mean by isn't so literal.

See, what I didn't expect to find out was that I really am no longer a college student. I can't walk to campus when I want. I can't go eat at the SUB. I can't hang out in the front office of the mass comm building like the creep I so gladly enjoyed being this summer.

Sure, I can do all these things technically. It's not like I'd be banned or escorted off the property. But honestly I just can't.

I am no longer in that group of people who go to classes, wait for Friday nights, and complain about doing their homework. I no longer have homework, expect for planing my next day of work. Ever heard someone say they miss homework? Well, you won't actually hear me say that. Poor people doing theirs tonight because professors think it's funny to start the year off with hammer in hand! There are things I do miss though. Like not seeing the inside of another football game. They don't tell you while in school that journalist don't get passes... and sorry Tech, you are a bit steep on those prices.

What about riding in cars completely sober? Being crazy in the back seat. Or having nacho day because you are about to go to a Mexico themed party and obviously have to get as much use out of the $4.00 blanket you made into a poncho. Or best of all, dancing in your friend apartment like the club stopped by your house. There is nothing better than dancing in your friends apartment.

The more I think about it the more I know I will miss these times, and the more real it is beginning to seem. But after a day of moping around in my own self pity (poor Shelby, she can't drink her days away and spend her nights acting a fool any more) I have come to the conclusion that I shouldn't be sad at all.

I had a wonderful time in college. The experience is irreplaceable. But my future is bright and the road ahead will be a great one. Many people told me I would regret graduating early, they said it was a mistake. The fear of being the person who thought it was had weighed me down for months. Today, right here in this place, I can say I will never be that person. I will never regret living up my college days, and I will never regret ending them when I did.