You stand on a hill and look out over a campus that had once looked like the most frightening and exiting thing you had ever seen. You look down and see a building that you once called home and you wonder what happened to that boy who was so young and naive. You think back to every moment of that life and how each moment somehow brought you here, looking down on a campus that now holds only memories, no more possibilities.
You think back to every paper written, test taken, hand shaken and heart broken and you wonder what will become of your life when you've left this place behind. You think back to every professor who ever taught you something and wonder what knowledge they will bestow upon the next generation. You remember every face that ever left an impression on yours and wonder what will become of them after you're gone. You remember every detail of the shortest four years of your life and you wonder what's next.
You can only hope that whatever the future holds somehow this place prepared you for it. You hope that every paper written, test taken, hand shaken and heart broken somehow leads you to something.
You can only hope that those who influenced you can know your gratitude. You hope that in twenty years you can come back to this place and have something to show for it; that you can walk up to a professor you once had and say thank you.
You can only hope that those you hurt forgive you and those you helped remember you.
You can only hope that those you called friends for the last four years you can call life-long friends for the next fifty. You hope that you stay in touch, that you hear of their lives and they hear of yours. You hope that their lives turn out the way they hoped and that you can be a part of those lives when they do turn out.
You can only hope that your parents are proud. You hope you see their smile and feel their joy in your accomplishments. You hope someday you can tell your kids stories of college like your parents told you and you hope someday you can feel that pride your parents now feel.
You can only hope you don't forget this place or the people in it. You hope these memories stay with you forever. You hope you took full advantage of this life you lived and you hope you leave this place with no regrets.
You can only hope.
