I remember the way the plane banked left after taking off. I propped my elbow on the armrest and watched Boston, in its entirety, shrink beneath me. Before the plane finally leveled, heading in the direction of the ocean, I saw Northeastern’s campus sprawled out among the winding city streets below.

What I wanted when I went abroad to Dublin, Ireland last fall was perspective. As I peered out the plane window, I realized with impressive clarity that I had found what I was looking for: a place in the world, even if only for a few years.

Many students will agree that Northeastern represents much more than a university, but a place to land— a place to belong.

As I sit here, weeks away from graduation, I am reminded of that moment last fall, when I left Northeastern with the certainty that I would be coming back. Now the energy of the campus feels very much changed. Upcoming graduates, like planes taxiing on the runway, are patiently awaiting their turn to take off somewhere new.

It is a strange irony to feel completely ready and unprepared at the same time for the changes ahead.

As graduation nears, many seniors are feeling the pressure of landing a full-time job in this rattled economy. Cover letters and résumés seem as prevalent a topic in conversation as diplomas. The challenge of finding ourselves has somehow been determined and defined by the things that we do. Already we have lost focus of the task at hand.

The challenge should not be to do something important, but to be someone valuable. Like a university, a job may define your place in the world temporarily. Still, it does not, and should not, define all of you.

I’ve found that it is not what you do or where you go, but rather who you are that can have the greatest impact on the world around you. It’s how you choose to react to the changes in your surroundings that build character. It’s the little things, too, like the edits your professor encourages you to make on your paper. And it’s how you choose to revise the story that ultimately makes the difference.

As I write this last column, I am reminded of all the moments responsible for getting me here. I am reminded of all the hours my professors have put into the work I have done. I am reminded of the students I’ve met, and the stories we’ve shared. I’m reminded of all the little moments that make me feel like my diploma is as much mine as it is everyone else’s who have helped me to earn it.

You just may find that it is the people— not the places— that have had, and will have, the greatest impact on your life. My advice is to listen to people, connect to them. Seek perspective as often as you can. When you do this, you may realize that is not where you are, so much as who you are, that really matters.

– Rebecca Fenton can be reached at [email protected]