On Friday, February 9th, the Class of 2024 celebrated a major milestone in their Notre Dame journey - 100 Days until Graduation. To celebrate the day, the Senior Class Council threw its “100 Days Dance”, a celebratory dance held in Dahnke Ballroom for the Senior Class to come together to have some fun as graduation quickly approaches. As a member of the Class of 2024 myself, I can say that Friday certainly brought a mix of emotions. There was excitement because well, who doesn’t love an excuse to put on a long dress?! But more than that, I was experiencing both a sense of urgency and a desire to stop time.
Urgency - with the 100 Days Dance now in the past, I can’t help but keep tallying the dwindling days I have here at Notre Dame. With that comes my inherent desire to make the most of these next few months, accomplishing everything that I can from on my “Notre Dame Bucket List”. My list is certainly extensive - attending another basketball game, more trips to the South Bend Farmer’s Market, running the Holy Half, etc. There is so much I want to do and it seems like there is not enough time to do it all. With less than 100 days to go, I know I will have to be constantly moving to get it all in before May.
Stop time - with the 100 Days Dance now in the past, I can’t help but think I now have less than 100 Days with my best friends at genuinely one of my favorite places on earth. Now I know this is cliche, but Notre Dame has truly become a home for me, and the friends I have made here are like family. Whether I’ve known them for a few months or since I started here as a freshman, every person I have met at Notre Dame has been so welcoming, kind, and supportive. I am incredibly grateful to this place and these people for making me want to stop time and never want to leave them.
Graduation has always been a distant goal, something my friends and I knew would happen eventually, but had yet to give it too much thought. Now in the “double digits” in regards to how many days we have until graduation, I can say I am officially freaking out. To clarify, I am not afraid to graduate because I feel unprepared. While starting a new phase in my life (adulting!) is certainly nerve-wracking, I am certain that Notre Dame has instilled in me the values, skills, and knowledge to go be a force for good in the world. Rather, I am just afraid to say goodbye. There is still so much to do here and so many memories to make that it is bittersweet to think about graduating. But, I know that I will always have a home at Notre Dame and the Notre Dame family I have made will always be there for me, no matter where in the world I will end up. Until then, I do still have (roughly) 100 days left - time to make the most of it!