The thing about being an alumnus

It’s about that time.  You’re graduating and becoming a member of the “Old People Club.”  Congratulations.  You’re free.

Now, you have a decision to make.  How active will you remain in APhiO?  I mean, if you’re moving away, the answer is fairly obvious, but if you’re staying in town, what’s your next step?

I used to think that this question had such an obvious answer for me.  But things happen, times change, and you sometimes find yourself needing to get away.  That’s okay.  It’s normal.  But you still have to answer the question.

As an alumnus, it’s hard to find the motivation to stick around.  I mean, meetings aren’t important anymore.  Nothing they say applies to you, and you think most of it is stupid at this point anyways.  Fellowships get harder because no one cares if you know people’s names, and the fewer people you know, the less fun these fellowships will be.  Plus, after a while, you’ve been to all of the fellowships already, and FVPs can’t think of anything that intrigues you anymore.  So what?  Service?  Sure.  But how many times do you have to be the only one interested in working before you give up?

Yeah, it’s difficult.  I know.  But you do your best.  You smile and tell stories.  You try to give pledges and actives someone to look up to because you feel like you may have failed at that in the past.  You try to be the alumnus that your role models were.

And if you can’t succeed?  Well, trust me, there’s an entire world waiting for you outside the walls that are this chapter.  Good luck.

iLFS

Rachel