My room in the Zeta Beta Tau house is full of clutter collected from my past four years at Emory. Strewn across my desk lie binders, books, and other souvenirs from the experience I am preparing to leave behind as I return home to New England after these adventurous years south of the Mason-Dixon line. As I examine these artifacts, I am taken by the richness of the time I have been allowed to have here and thankful for this unforgettable period of my life. Sorting through the various items scattered about my room has been cathartic over the past several weeks. I thought coming to terms with the end of college would be easier. In fact, cleaning up the mess and saying goodbye has been harder than expected.

In sum, I cannot help but think about what could have been made out of my experience at Emory. I leave wondering about the classes I did not take, classmates I did not meet, and conversations I did not have. Yet overall, I am satisfied with my education here – thinking back, it is hard for me to identify mistakes I would not have made again. After all, at its best, the Emory bubble facilitates growth by allowing such minor blunders to occur and students to learn from them.

At a certain point, those comforts becoming stifling though and tension is needed to continue one's education and growth. The inevitable shock of post-college life has not fully hit me, but the anticipation of the certain changes soon to come has. I am not sure what the future holds for me. But I am sure that at least some of the lessons of the classroom, student government, and even my old fraternity house will serve me well in the so-called real world. The time wasted and well-spent at Emory will all be missed but still valued for how it has shaped me into who I am today. After four years in college, I feel prepared to take the next step and stare down the gauntlet of obstacles that await me in the world.

So as a I reminisce and consider the past four years, I cannot thank Emory enough. I hope to not only conserve the memories I have collected, but also continue to build connections to this institution which has given me so much. Even though I will be far away next year, the ideas discussed, knowledge gained, and most importantly the people I have got to know will remain close to my heart and in my thoughts.

Adam McCall graduated from the College in May 2012. He was President of Student Government Association.