Closure

It was only recently that I found out valedictorians don’t exist in college. I didn’t believe

Sonja when she told me that because “What about Elle Woods? She was valedictorian at

Harvard!” but she assured me that it was probably for dramatic effect. Regardless, I have

always loved the sappy graduation speeches. They are always filled with memories and

inside jokes only your classmates would understand and people cry! Alas, with graduation

being cancelled I was robbed of these moments where I could throw my grad cap in the air

as I envision it dramatically falling down in slow motion as an epic song plays in the

background. There will be no pictures under the bell tower, no prexy's pond jump, and no

proposals. (Is that just an Elle Woods thing too?)

Coming to this realization has felt exactly like getting the wind knocked out of me.

Everything seems to be moving so quickly and the life that I had at Concordia has now

been cut short without the ability to catch my breath and leaving no time to say goodbye.

This blog post is really just a chance to get some closure on my memories I made and to

document my life as a cobber. 

Choir, Improv with Lasers, and summers spent at LCBC were the three most consistent

memories. But freshman year highlights include Big Fish, my Kord radio show Bangin Bops,

seeing amazing theatre in New York, and Hippo Campus at Cornstalk. Sophomore year was

Fiddler on the Roof, spending New Years Eve with Lizzo at First Ave, and stealing the show in

Tartuffe. Junior year was defined by Ariana Grande. I turned 21, dyed my hair pink, and went

downtown practically every weekend. Senior Year was by far the best year I had at Concordia.

There was Orientation, the Geology Field Trip, Snowcoming, winning best Halloween costume

at Mick’s, going to see both Lizzo & Celine Dion in concert, and to top it all off I went to

Norway! (Just barely missing the travel ban.)

Of course, not all of my memories from the past four years are happy. Friendships were lost,

my heart was broken by a couple dumb boys, I was rejected by several theatre auditions, and

my mental health was sometimes been so bad that I didn’t think I could go on. But all of these

memories are what make me who I am. They made me stronger. And every time I was

knocked down I got back up again. Although I am heartbroken that I will not be returning

to Concordia in the fall, I will always be grateful for my professors, my friends, and all of the

people who treated me with kindness. The life I made at Concordia and the person I became

would not have been possible without them.