Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Yesterday I made the transition from being an undergraduate to being a graduate, the result of a journey I started just under four-years ago, and looking back, I couldn't have imagined just where it would lead - just over four-years ago I thought I was going to be reading Economics

People who've been here before say that the University years are the years of our lives, and I know what they mean. Everything that's happened in the past four years has been part of one amazing experience, and despite the ups and the downs, I wouldn't change any of it for the world. Whether it's cycling through Holland towards a destination unknown, late night essay writing, posing with tourists for their photos, sliding out of a corner in a kart, talking with friends, whether things are mundane or extraordinary, they all add up to one tremendous period of living that I'll always look back on with pleasure, and yet also probably a misplaced wish that I'd done more with, and made more of, my time here.

I remember writing when I left Utrecht just under a year ago that you never appreciate things until they're gone, and it's still as true as ever. It doesn't seem two minutes since my parents drove away from Cripps Court of the first time as I waved goodbye standing on the corner. But in the four years since then I've gone from being 18 to 22, I've spent a year abroad, and I've made friends who'll last a lifetime. And yet, despite the past four-years being so life changing, they feel almost as if they never happened.

And so, yesterday was graduation day; the day that my time at University has slowly been edging towards.



I remember seeing a group of people graduating in my first-year and remember just how far-away and incomprehensible the whole thing seemed. Yet yesterday, at 9:15 I found myself lining up on Old Court lawn to do just the same thing, have the group photo taken, and begin the walk down to the Senate House.


It was all over so quickly, Just enough time to worry about standing in the wrong place, tripping or stumbling, and then, it's done and you're clutching your certificate and walking out of the door – a student no more. Everyone looked splendid in the whole get up and it did feel like a special day. When there's so much pomp and ceremony at University it cane be hard to separate the ordinary from the extraordinary, but looking back ever after a day, I know it's a day that will stay with me for the rest of my life; and the fact that so many photos were taken of it proves that much.




But it, or rather I, left so much unsaid. People have been leaving Selwyn for over a week now; either going home or on to other things, and there have been people who left before I got a chance to say things that I really should have done. But yesterday really brought that home. It's always felt a bit strange saying goodbye at the end of term, knowing it'll be at least six weeks until you see some people again, but this time, in many cases, goodbye meant just that. I'm not going to wake up in Selwyn a student again. I'm not going to be able to cross the corridor or the courtyard to say hello. And I'm not going to bump into friends in all manner of places. Of course, it's been coming for four-years, and the same thing happened in Holland last year, but the speed with which it's come in the last few days has left me a little speechless. There's always more to say and do, but I can't help but wonder what I left unsaid at the end.

I'm conscious of how negative that sounds, and it's not meant to be. Selwyn has been my life for four-years now, and to leave so suddenly can't be anything other than jerking. But I'm really looking forward to what comes next. Deep down I think I'm ready to leave University, and those who know me will well know I've been saying it for long enough. I love Cambridge and the people there, but I'm ready to leave being a student behind, for the time being. No, I can't have the time back, but I can enjoy the time I had, and I can make the most of the times to come.



So, my slider has been set to 'out' for the last time. My pigeon hole will soon be no more. But at least I'm confidant that Selwyn has been left in the most capable pairs of hands I know.