This is where the movie ends..

So, I graduated today. It's a bit weird, and sad, because despite my feeling that my time here was somewhat manic-depressive, I had a good time. I met a lot of good people, and saying goodbye was hard, because I know that some of these people, I'll probably never see again. The advantages of the Internet, like Facebook and e-mail means that I'll be able to keep in touch with some people, remember their birthdays, but I wonder if I'll ever connect with any of them, see them at reunions or go out to the bars with them.
It's such a relief to have gotten my diploma, to have passed each of my classes in the four years, not to have to study for exams in classes that I don't care about, and to have found something that I truly love doing - research, writing, everything that goes into history. I discovered a love for geology and have done and gone some terrific things while I've been here. I was the president of the games club for two years, on the Civilian Honor council, I went to a Star Wars convention, got people hooked on things like Firefly and Battlestar, I've fallen in and out with people, seen friends get married, break up and leave, I've gone across the world to other countries and seen some of the most incredible things in my life, and I've met some of the most interesting and wonderful people that I'll ever meet.
I've found myself aggravated at people's shortsightedness, found myself as a liberal on a military campus, at odds with just about every topic that I've ever come to accept, and along the way, I've come to realize that there isn't a blanket good and bad, right or wrong and that people don't uniformly disagree, and that if they've got a different perspective on the world, they're not bad or misguided people, they just think differently, and that's a good thing.
I have no idea what the future holds. Walking across the stage after getting my diploma and shaking President Schneider's hand, he said 'See you in Normandy'. I guess things will come one by one, and I'm okay with that. I can't wait to see what happens. I've got a trip overseas with a bunch of important people. A girlfriend 800 + miles away. A job at a bookstore. There's a couple of building blocks. I'd like to attend graduate school for history. While everyone asks me what History is going to do for me, as if it's one of those majors that's completely useless, it's heavy with reading and writing and communication skills, critical thinking and analysis. I think I can find a future with that.
I just wish that I could have said goodbye to everyone.