The One Where We Learn Where the Piebald Penguin Has Been

The Piebald Penguin is back...from outer space...yes. I know, I know...you've all been waiting on the edges of your seats for me to get back to blogging. And now I'm back and better than ever! Seriously. I'm a better person as a direct result of last week. I walked across a stage, shook an old guy's hand and received a little blue cardboard thingy that will eventually hold a little piece of paper that says that society excepts me for who I am. Also, that little piece of paper apparently means that I am qualified to begin looking for a job. For those of you who are still sitting there scratching your heads and wondering what I'm talking about, I just graduated from college. It was pretty epic and exciting and sad. Yes sad. But really happy too.

Funny story. Yesterday, I was sitting in room, doing absolutely nothing productive, when I had a really bad feeling. It was one of those, "Oh, crap. It's late, and there's something due tomorrow...I just don't remember what..." feelings. I'm sure that, at some point in your lives, you all have felt something like that. And I freaked out for a couple seconds trying to remember what I'd forgotten to do. Then I remembered that I had just graduated college and definitely didn't have anymore homework. Ah. Such a good feeling.

Along with graduating, I'll be leaving the city that my college was in and moving to a brand new city. I say brand new because it is neither where my family lives nor is it where I've lived the last four years. It's going to be an exciting experience...I hope. The experience thus far has been suitably fraught with worry and wonder as I try to figure out where I'm going to live and what I'm going to do. Since I'm moving, I have to pack up everything that is currently in the room that I'm staying in now. Whenever I pack, I always go through a process.
Step 1: Sift through the mental debris and clean out all the old memories
Step 2: Sift through the papers that are scattered around my room
Step 3: Get rid of as much of trash that's around the room
Step 4: Pack the clothes in suitcases and the non-clothes into boxes and bags

I'm currently on step 1. It's amazing how many memories I have of the last year. Sometimes, I have a memory that I don't ever want to get rid of. These moments are the extremely rare, please-let-time-stop moments in time. Over the last four years, I have had exactly 4 of these moments. It's a moment in time in which I have the clarity to realize that it's something that I want to never let go of. While there are lots of times that are fun and exciting and memorable, there are very few times that I wish to freeze time. The reason I bring this up is that the most recent of these moments happened at graduation just this past Friday.

Anywho, this is just a little update on the life of The Piebald Penguin as he begins the next stage of life.

~The Piebald Penguin

Dear Diary...

Dear Diary,

Today was my last day of college. It feels really good to be able to say that.

~The Piebald Penguin

The Signficance of the Number 35

Exactly five weeks from this hour, the Piebald Penguin will be standing on a football field, surrounded by his friends and family. Goodbyes will be said, times will be reminisced, and pictures will be taken. It's a major crossroads in my life. The end of an era. The beginning of the next segment of my existence. A chance to start fresh, as I reintegrate myself into society. It will be a bittersweet moment in my life. The sweet freedom of being truly on my own, ready to take on the world, cannot be denied. At the same time, I will be leaving the majority of my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances behind. It's that kind of moment that makes you wish for a thousand more days to spend time with your friends. Four years is a long time. College life lends itself towards unique friendships. You live in close proximity to a lot of people; you eat meals together in the caf; you see each other in your 8am classes. Getting to know my friends, sharing my life with them, has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Truly. I love my friends. So, while I'm excited to go off and conquer the world, I am reluctant to leave the people I know. But, whether I want to or not, 5 weeks means 35 days. 10 of those are weekend days. 2 are days we have off class. The last 5 comprise finals week and graduation day. That means that there are a measly 18 days of actual class left. It seems that whole weeks go by in a single blink of the eye. We are rushing towards the end like a train without breaks.

~The Piebald Penguin