Out of curiousness, I pulled a planner off the wall. People always ask “Where do you want to be in 10 years?” well, I looked back 10 years. What changed? What was I doing?
On September 24, 2015 I was still in college. It was a Thursday, so I had classes: Animal Science and Physics Lab (ew). My notes from that day were very vague. I went to the dining hall, went to class, went to a different dining hall, went to class. Guess I came back to the dorm to study at some point because I had an exam that night. I would consider it a good day since my old room mate who I was having issues with moved out and I got a new one who actually wanted to be friends.
I flipped through a couple pages of the planner to see how life was like back then. Honestly, I’m disappointed in myself for not keeping better record. There’s enough of what I did, but not enough of what I was thinking or feeling which is something I add to my planner these days.
Sidenote for something funny. I found a day I was supposed to be studying physics and I ended up crafting ghosts and mummies instead. I made them out of soda cans and cloth. I bet I still have them somewhere.
Ten years ago, I was studying to become a veterinarian. I wanted to work with exotics, your typical zoo species. Ten years ago, I tried volunteering at my college town’s local zoo, but it never worked out. Ten years ago, I remember keeping my head down in college, just trying to get through it, and life exploded when my roommates changed. Suddenly, there were more people in the dorm, and I was a part of the activities.
I remember praying for something to change. Life with my old roommate…well, it sucked. She would bring boys back to the room and they’d snore like lumberjacks (we were in an all girls dorm btw). She’d come back late at night when I had early class. We never interacted. I would walk to the zoo every weekend just to stay out of the dorm. When I confronted my roommate about her bringing boys back and late nights, she told me to deal with it. I was hating my college experience because of it, and my prayers became more desperate. Days later, she told me she was swapping rooms. I was nervous about a new roommate, but I convinced myself she had to be better than my old one and I was right.
Looking back, I’m glad that change happened. I wasn’t so lonely in college anymore and it led to friendships that lasted even after graduation. I wish those girls well. I hope they’re chasing their dreams, and I hope they’re still as crazy as they were back then.
Looking back, I’m grateful.
nikki diekemper 