Closer to the Edge: Finals and Highlights

This is it. We're almost done.

This time next week, I'll be finishing all my packing, organizing and deciding what possessions to take home with me. I'll be going through room inspection, spending time with my best friend who will soon be three time zones away, and saying goodbye to the crazies I've come to love.

A week from tomorrow, I'm going home.

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this. Sure, it's been way too long since I've seen the ocean, and I'm thrilled to be coming home to both professional and social opportunities, but what about this life I've created here? Do I just push pause for three months and come back like nothing's changed?

That's silly. This is real life. Nobody can do that.

Still, I'm really going to miss my friends here at ASU. They're dependable, honest, really fun to be around and a lot like me - most of us are music majors, so we've shared a lot of the same trials and tribulations over the past nine months. Some of them I've only known for a semester, but they've already become extremely important to me. Others I've known most of the year and have become my rock. There have been smiles and tears, laughter and heartbreak, and my phone's autocorrect now speaks fluent Italian. We've created some amazing memories, and I already know/hope I'm going to be keeping up with some of these people for the rest of my life.

So we'll Skype and FaceTime and call and text, and come August we'll all return to the fiery furnace that is the land of the Sun Devil. Will we be different people then? Most definitely. Summer is a volatile time, and I'm sure the gossip mill will once again go crazy next fall - we'll all have stories to tell, and this time we'll have old friends to tell them to.

Anyway. I'll get all nostalgic and emotional later. Now, on to a very important list: (More) Things I Learned My Freshman Year. [For Part 1 of the list, see this post.]

1. To ensure the music majors get exercise, have the elevator in the music building break - for three weeks. Add extra travel time into your schedule so you can actually climb the five flights of stairs and still be on time to 8am theory.
2. Don't expect anyone to text you back, especially if it's important.
3. Dining hall food gets really repetitive (except gelato).
4. Sometimes you're going to eat by yourself. Rumor has it that's okay.
5. Having a baby grand piano in the dining hall does NOT mean it will be played well. If anything, it is a guarantee that multiple people will play it badly. (It is also less likely to be tuned on a regular basis.)
6. Hugs are rare. Cherish all of them.
7. It's good to have friends who AREN'T in your major.
8. Sometimes sitting around watching movies until 3am constitutes an exciting Friday night.
9. You'll start to realize that you now have multiple friends with spouses and/or kids.
10. Most of the friends in #9 will be more than a couple years older than you. Be glad.
11. Late-night food runs are the best thing ever.
12. Naps are also the best thing ever. (Though they can and will mess up your sleep schedule.)
13. Despite having technology that allows you to communicate almost instantly, if your best friends are in different time zones, you may discover the true joys of snail mail.
14. You will never be able to not check your email again.
15. Time management will always be really important.
16. Setting your own bedtime is great if you know you'll get enough sleep to be functional. If you know you won't, you have only yourself to blame.
17. Sometimes your friends will need things at inconvenient times. (Sometimes = almost always.) It's important that you at least try to come through for them anyway.
18. Girl talk and frozen yogurt go hand in hand.
19. You can wear pretty much whatever you want to class. Pajamas? Sure. Concert dress? You'll only get a few strange looks.
20. If you're a girl, you'll develop your own system for dealing with that special breed of college boy that enjoys whistling at, catcalling, and otherwise attempting to objectify you.
21. If you're a boy, you'll start hearing about this more and more from your female friends.
22. You'll be really glad you got good at BS-ing in high school. Because sometimes you will remember that assignment for your gen-ed class fifteen minutes before it's due.
23. After completing Human Event, you'll wonder what you're going to do with all your extra time. (Oh, wait, you still have a thesis. Never mind.)
24. If you're a musician, people will consistently think you're insane. They're frequently right.
25. Post-performance high fives and hugs are among the greater things in life.
26. You'll find that certain people require you develop an opinion about everything.
27. Having small classes is great because your professor almost definitely knows your name and quite possibly has some time to help you if you need it. It's nerve-wracking because nothing goes unnoticed.
28. Composition majors make friends with performers by helping them with the theory homework.
29. Put your name on everything you submit - including digital files.
30. Sometimes the best part of your day involves Chipotle for lunch and raucous mealtime conversation with your fellow brass players. Enjoy it.

As usual, I've probably forgotten quite a bit, but hey, it's summer. One final shout-out, though: last night at the ASU Composition Studio Recital, a brass quintet of good friends of mine premiered my newest piece, Supernova. They did a fantastic job and I'm so lucky to have musicians like them to work with. Can't wait to see what next year brings!
Good luck on your finals, everybody. We're almost done!
Love you all,
Megan