How does graduating with your bachelor’s degree at 19 sound? Terrifying? Yeah, that just about sums up how I’m feeling right now.

As a second-year student and a senior, or seen-more, if you will, I’ve got my hands tied. On one, my senioritis has taken hold, and I’m ready to be done; but on the other I feel like there is still so much more to do.

I also live in this awkward limbo of being a teenager while having the expectations of an adult on my shoulders.

While my friends are researching UP apartments, I’m researching jobs. While my friends are going to club rushes, I’m rushing to my internship. While my friends are registering for their next semester, I’m RSVPing to senior send off.

This semester has been a whirlwind, I just want to pump the brakes so I can slow down and soak in all of the memories I’m making. But it’s also a time to reflect on all the good times.

I’ve only been in Abilene for three semesters, but in that short time, I’ve made friendships to last a lifetime. I’ve gotten to study abroad in Oxford and travel the world with my best friends.

But what could I accomplish if I were to stay? Could I be an editor of the Optimist? Could I start my own social club? Would I have a ring before spring? Sometimes I feel like there are so many things I sacrificed by graduating two years early.

While sometimes it feels like I’m doing so many things for the last time, I need to remember the big picture. I am about to embark on the greatest journey of my life. A journey that crossing the pond doesn’t even compare to.

However, the scariest part of every journey is embarking. The fear of the unknown. But, what I realized this semester is that not-knowing is OK, and maybe I’m not expected to have my entire life figured out at 19.

One of my favorite professors, Dr. Jeanene Reese, told my mentor group that the secret to success is knowing when to ask for help.

So this is my S.O.S.

When I’m frustrated, help me realize I can’t do it all. When I’m stressed, help me realize there will be a tomorrow. When I’m overexerting myself, help me remember to sleep.

Truth be told, there is no way I would be graduating this May without tons of help from my family, friends and ACU faculty and staff. So lastly, I want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who has helped me reach this final semester. No, the first chapter to the rest of my life.