Walking through the Ell Concourse there is a case display from the Office of Spiritual Life asking, “Confused? Losing Friends? Moving to a New Home?” I can answer all of those with a quantitative, “yes.” My fellow “bulge class” seniors and I, who are invited to attend our graduation at the FleetCenter, finally have one more thing in common since freshman year: We’re graduating.

We all came here, we all experienced the dining halls, we all made the transition from quarters to semesters and we all hopefully made the hygienic decision to shower with flip-flops on. Between freshman and senior year we could have chosen to take a number of paths: several co-ops, a few no-ops or the more traditional approach to college (“Girls Gone Wild” spring breaks and all). In my five years I did three co-ops, an internship and had the opportunity to be an editor at The Northeastern News for four years. Now, as my name gets pushed up and off the masthead to make way for another year full of extremely capable editors, I have to think about what my life will be like without the newspaper.

Whatever it is we went through, some people will look back and be glad they decided to go here, while others will be disappointed.

I’m one of the lucky ones who is pleased she went here. I’m optimistic about the future success, especially under such a goal-orientated administration. I hope the university does well and makes it to the Top 100. But, I also hope the university doesn’t forget about the students who were here when the president announced this goal. Every year we hear, “This year’s class is the best and the brightest.” That’s like hearing your mother tell you she likes your little sister better. I hope the university makes a stronger effort to make those of us who have been here for a while still feel welcome — even if we reapplied today we wouldn’t be able to get into the “new Northeastern.”

What I’m feeling right now is confusion. What is the normal salary pay for graduates? How competitive is it really going to be? Why does every job require you to apply through the Internet?

I’m losing friends. I’m leaving some behind, and others are graduating and moving on to other places.

But what’s most exciting is I’m moving to a new home. A few weeks ago I found an affordable apartment in New York City, where hopefully a job will follow within a few weeks, or it’s back to Starbucks for me.

I’m confident this won’t be the case, because I’ve been blessed with a lot of worthy experiences. Some of the experiences I’ve gone out and found on my own, and I think that’s what the university fosters. All of my friends are independent and willing to do things on their own. Maybe that’s why the NU Shuffle doesn’t upset too many people. It’s sort of like the five second rule: You’re really upset you dropped your candy on the floor, but most of the time you brush it off and eat it anyway.

The Shuffle has taught us it’s much faster to do things on your own than to rely on anyone else for assistance. Even that experience will be helpful because it is “experiential education” to the core. When there are dozens of high school students playing on the elevator, take the stairs. When the line for Wendy’s is too long, go to either of the huts, Dosa or Pizza.

There are solutions all over this campus, teaching us to fend for ourselves. All my confusion, apprehension or doubt about myself will be lifted because of my experiences at Northeastern. Good luck to all of the younger, “bigger” and “brighter” classes, and get involved to independently make your time here an example of “higher learning, richer experience.”

– Lauren Rouleau is a senior journalism major and the editor in chief of The Northeastern News.