Senior-itis

Senior-itis is a close friend of mine; it plagued me from junior high until I graduated high school.  On high school graduation day (pictured!), as my classmates cried and took photos and promised never to forget the best days of their lives, I sat under a tree with my friend Jordan thanking the Good Lord that we'd never have to do that again.

I can even remember in elementary school, wishing I was in middle school so I could play in the band....in middle school wishing I was in junior high so I could try out for the dance team....in junior high wishing I was in high school so I could audition for plays....and in high school dreaming of being at conservatory so I could study my craft.  It wasn't until I began at UNCSA that the persistent feeling of needing to be somewhere else left me.  Finally, I found somewhere I belonged. 

But this summer, I could feel the peaceful feeling slipping away.  It's been a huge, messy, seaweed-filled mucky pond to wade though.  Major life questions like, "Is this the right path for me?  Does this still make me happy?" burdened me.  Everyone has chalked it up to senior-itis, but being very familiar with that particular disease, I think it's something else.

I think that as a kid in elementary school, middle school, and high school, I only dreamed up until where I am right now in my life.  I dreamed of being at conservatory, studying craft among peers who had the same level of passion I do for theatre.  Anything beyond that was vague dreams of Broadway or film, with no reality of how to achieve them.  Now, as amazing as it is that by God's grace I have been able to realize my dreams so far, it's time to dream bigger.  I haven't lost my drive or ambition - it just needs a new direction.  And the only direction I can go from here is up.

--Jasmine Anne Osborne