Two nights ago I made brownies to give to The Record copy editors and layout staff as a token of my appreciation.
The oven had other plans.When I pulled the brownies out of the oven, I was disappointed to find them lopsided and partially overcooked. This was not entirely my fault–my oven randomly heats up and cools down like it’s a Goshen weather forecast. That, and the oven racks are slanted. (Beware, future dwellers of Vita House!)
Still, the brownies looked OK on the one side, and after trying a bite, I discovered that they tasted good, too.
As I stared at the chocolate disappointment/delight in front of me, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Man, this would make a great metaphor for my Record editorial!”
You see, I am the lopsided brownies. (I never promised this was a perfect metaphor). My life is on an incline: a slope descending toward graduation.
As you can imagine, this slope has left me feeling a bit off-balance this semester.
Half the time I feel like I’ve got my life together: my senior classes are going well, I’m on track to graduate and my summer plans are set (Maple Scholars). The other half of the time I’m worrying about life after college: resumes, applications, networking, interviews. That’s when I feel overcooked, so to speak.
I could be wrong, but I suspect I’m not alone in feeling off-balance or emotionally drained these days. A few nights ago I posted the following status update on Facebook:
“Lately I find myself straddling the fine line between overwhelming excitement for life after college and mind-boggling fear. Like, constantly. Is anyone else feeling this erratic and/or insane?”
The 20 ‘likes’ my status received, mostly by Goshen College seniors, indicate that I’m not the only one experiencing a mix of emotions during this transitional stage. To many seniors, post-graduate life can seem both liberating and terrifying.
I don’t have any answers, but for now I take comfort in the fact that, despite being off-center, my brownies–and my life–still taste pretty sweet at the moment.
