With my very last semester at Gannon underway, it has finally sunk in that this is it – the end of my time here at Gannon. And to be honest I’ve come to terms with it. I’m looking forward to moving on to a brand new phase in life and setting out on an exciting adventure.

I have absolutely no idea where I’m headed or what I want to do, but I guess that is the most exhilarating part of all.

Soon I will be taking on a full-time job and attempting to find somewhere a bit more permanent to live. That place will most likely be Erie, but I’m not ruling out other options quite yet. It’s like searching for colleges all over again – exploring hospitals and what they have to offer, trying to find a specialty that best fits me, my skills and my personality, and securing a job that provides financial stability. That last one is most important because we all know that with that diploma come student loan payments as well.

As I pondered the thought that finding a job is a lot like finding a college, I realized that I would treat this semester as if it were my senior year in high school again. I only have three classes and decided not to work as much as I previously had. To sum up, I’ve decided to relax and enjoy my final weeks at Gannon.

In my mental health nursing class last week, my professor stressed the fact that
everyone needs some “me time” once in a while. Personally, I think it should occur more often than not. For that reason, I have scheduled time for naps as well as time that I will not allow myself to work on anything remotely school-related. It will be a refreshing change of pace from last semester, when I literally had to make time to eat and sleep, and sometimes fitting in time to do those things was nearly impossible.

For those of you who are high school seniors this year, my advice is to sit back and relax this semester. There’s always a possibility that you can return to college as an adult if you want to, but unfortunately high schools won’t let you reapply and return as a student once you have graduated. And although you swear up and down that you will be close with all of your friends from high school forever, this usually isn’t the case, so enjoy your time with them.

Anyway, I have an adventure that I need to continue to prepare for – after a nap.

-Tyler

Get a feel for what life is like for another senior nursing major in Kim’s blog Pulse GU.