It’s time to ask the question every senior dreads.

 Am I ready to graduate?

Honestly, I don’t know if I am. I’ve been in school all my life and have a routine down by now, go to work, come home, do homework, and get my life together. But this well-known feeling is about to change drastically as I put on my big girl pants.

But what worries me is what comes ahead. Will I find a job due to COVID-19? Will I still have the same people around me? Am I even experienced enough to get a good job that can support me? All these questions that run through my head on a daily basis haunt me as I go to sleep.

Luckily, I will have people who will back me up along the way and support me as I begin a new era. I’ve been blessed with some of the greatest friends, family, and teachers. I’ve learned a lot and lost a lot, but overall I’ve grown myself into a new person.

At first, I was a dull student just doing the motions to barely pass a class. I slept through multiple classes beyond belief and had no energy. I put myself last and put other needs first. But now I am a hard worker. College taught me to put myself first, and I somewhat know what’s right from wrong.

Now I’m not saying I’m perfect or that I know everything that there is to know but, I sure as do know I will be successful. I promise myself that.

Something I’ve learned through my experience in school is I truly do love learning (just depends on what it is). I hate learning about math but I do love learning about my field. Hearing the stories from past journalists, advertisers, and social media specialists is so cool to me, and it helps me feel successful knowing I’m learning from those who have been in roles I’ll soon be in.

They have helped me understand that it is possible to be successful and they are people that will stick with me forever.

One person, in particular, is Michael Perrota. He has changed my whole perspective on school and the journalism field. Perrota took the chance on me and helped me believe in myself. When I first took a class with him, I was confused about my life and had no idea what I wanted to do. I was a new girl in a new college and was just going through the motions. He mentioned the newspaper to me and I was like, “you know what? Let’s do it!”

While being on The Impact, I’ve had creative freedom of the social media, my own column, and have written multiple news stories that I am beyond proud of.

And now, here I am a year later as the Managing Editor and Social Media Editor, working as hard as I can to prove him proud.

This experience has been nothing but great for me. I get to publish my work, learn while doing it, and help others improve their work.

I used to be afraid of leadership but here I am, being a leader between this position and being an Orientation Leader in 2019. My younger self would’ve never believed me if I told her where I was today. I’m sure one day I’ll stumble upon this column and say to myself, “Look at me now.”

This is my thank you to Professor Perrota for believing in me when you have doubted me (because I’m sure there have been days where you wanted to kill me.) Thank you for being an advisor, professor, and friend to me in my years at Mercy.

It’s only taken me five years to get my final semester. I’m ready. It’s time to take a bow, close the curtains, and move on in May of 2021.