Normally, I wouldn’t really consider myself to be an overly sentimental person. I don’t like to dwell on things, and try my best to look towards the future rather than stay rooted in the past or the present. As senior year draws on, however, and the end of this semester seems only a few short weeks away, the sentimentality attached to this being my final fall semester at Scripps has started to permeate all of my interactions and experiences–both here and at the rest of the 5C’s.

For example, I have started categorizing a lot of what I do, see, and feel as “The Last _____” or “The Final ______.” This has become a sort of mantra in relation to specific events on campus (“The Last Toga Party,” or “The Last Halloweekend with Suite Group Costumes,” etc.), but can absolutely be applied to a lot of other experiences on campus, as will definitely be the case in the next few weeks when the dining halls start rolling out their Thanksgiving menus (aptly titled “The Last Thanksgiving Crawl 2k15,” in which my friends and I vow to hit every single dining hall that serves Thanksgiving food, even if we have to flex ourselves in to a second lunch or dinner to accomplish this feat).

This is about as accurate as it gets. Thanksgiving Crawl 2k15 is not for the faint of heart.

As I find myself labeling things in this way more and more often, I’m still trying to decide how I feel about this bittersweet attachment to the finality of this year. On the one hand, acknowledging that it is indeed the last time that I will be able to do a group costume with the wonderful gals that I live with, or go to one of my favorite themed parties on campus, gives a sad sort of tinge to the experiences as a whole; but, it also incentivizes me to make the most of what I have here at Scripps, and enjoy every last moment that much more. I don’t want to look back on my last two semesters here with any regrets about things I could have been doing or involving myself more in, but I also have to maintain a balance that will allow me to devote the necessary and important time to cranking out my thesis, as well as succeed in my other classes. It can feel overwhelming at times, what with the “But it’s the last time you’ll ever _________!” argument always weighing in the back of my mind, but figuring out how to maintain a harmony between the work and the play is very important in creating a memorable and productive senior year.

I know I said I’m not a sentimental kind of person, but I can’t deny that I am pretty comfortably attached to Scripps and the 5C’s, in more ways than one. Unlike my senior year of high school, when I couldn’t wait to get out of there and head right to college the second I graduated, some of the apprehension about leaving that naturally accompanies the ambiguity of my next steps post-Scripps (unlike in high school, where it was pretty heavily assumed that the next step was a good college or university), stems from the fact that there is no “set” place for me to go. I have talked about this before (in case you missed a previous post of mine–shame on you!) but all this sentimentality and nostalgic longing to return to my first year at Scripps and never, ever leave has brought these thoughts back to the front of my mind. So much for not being sentimental……

If these past few weeks (and the reflection on all I have said above) have taught me anything, it’s that giving into a little sentimentality isn’t a always bad thing. It’s senior year! Why shouldn’t I get a little misty-eyed thinking about how this will be the last time I get to bust out my sweater collection for the Claremont autumn weather I have been waiting for ever-so-patiently? Or wistfully look forward to my last Holiday season here with festive foods and decorations in every dining hall? Remembering to savor these little, last times–but balancing this appreciation with other work and responsibilities–is what I would consider a key factor to making the most of my last year at Scripps.

Besides the sentimentality, what do you think is important and necessary in creating the best senior year ever?