Kent Otto

It’s been a weekend filled with lasts. Last fraternity I-Dance. Last sorority formal. Last dance I’ll DJ for some time. Last time I can go to a church service with a friend.

And that’s just the beginning of the lasts. Senior celebration is next week. My final finals are in two weeks. SIFE Nationals is the week after.

In three weeks, it’s all gone. Done.

Knowing my days here are numbered is a scary thought. I’ve spent the last five years of my life immersed in something I previously worked 18 years to achieve.

It seems like just yesterday I was loading up my truck with the essentials and venturing off to a life I could have never before imagined. I’ll never forget the words my sister-in-law said as I stopped by for one last visit that hot August afternoon in 2003. “Have fun in college,” she said as I drove away.

And just like that, it all changed. I’d soon spend the next few days with a nervous, literal sick feeling in my stomach — discovering new buildings, people, streets, weaknesses, and strengths. There were classes to attend, papers to (re)learn to write, fraternities to rush, organizations to join, foods to eat (and get sick of), meetings to arrange and relationships to build.

I became acclimated quickly. I give credit to my involvement in outside activities. I can tell only a few things about the classes I took, but I can tell you story after story about random nights at the fraternity house, late/early mornings putting the final touches on the newspaper and endless trips to extravagant locations with the SIFE team.

I specifically remember the end of freshman year. Packing up and moving out of the dorms was hard to handle. I’d be spending the summer at home away from the new life I had established. A friend said “can you believe a whole year is done? We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

Four years after that moment, I’m looking back on the past and wondering where the time has gone. But then I think for a moment and realize that a lot has been accomplished. Many memories have been formed. Mistakes have been made. And goals have been achieved. In that sense, it’s been a good run.

And here I am again. I’m staring towards the future with that same feeling in my stomach. Will I be able to find friends (wherever it is I choose to go)? Will I like the weather? Will I like my job? What if I hate it all?

Or maybe I should play it safe and stay close. Probably not…all my friends will be moving and this place will be almost unrecognizable to me…as it’s quickly become these past few months. But that’s okay with me.

The transition will likely be less traumatic for me than for the others. After all, I’ve had a “victory lap” year to slowly phase myself out. I can’t imagine going from everything to nothing.

The future is bright. I’m excited to move on. But I’d be lying to myself if I said I’m not going to miss this place.