Well this is it. The day I’ve been dreading since moving into my jail cell size-dorm room freshman year. And while I’ve been praying to the academic gods to let me stay in the limbo world between reality and high school, my dad’s been praying to the financial aid gods for this day to arrive.

He’s won. I’m done. Graduation is here.

Ohio State is letting me loose into the real world and I have no idea what to do with it. This is the end of big free concerts, multiple choice exams and student discounts.

I’ve done plenty to delay this inevitable ending to the best four-and-a-half years of my life. I picked up a minor, studied abroad – all attempts to stretch out my time here by a few more quarters. I attempted to convince my dad to let me double major. He said I could get 10 majors if I wanted. But he was only helping me pay for one.

I was successful in convincing him that I should stay an extra quarter just to take two electives. But even this quarter of no academic purpose has to come to an end.

I’ve done everything I could to lengthen my stay here but it hasn’t done much to dull the desire to stay.

I could live the college lifestyle for at least a couple more years. I want to order pizza five times a week. I want to move every year. I want to sleep until noon. I want to go to the bar on a Sunday night, and again on a Monday night … and again on Tuesday.

What I don’t want to do is enter a career where I know I won’t be leaving for half a century. Alarms set at 6 a.m. are not my thing. Neither is responsibility.

My student loan is telling a different story. There is nothing like waking up one morning and realizing you are tens of thousands of dollars in debt. I’m never going to forget my college years – the memories will last forever and the debt looks like it will last just as long.

Well no matter how upset I am that college is over or how quickly the real world is arriving, my time here is over.

I have to say, it’s been quite a ride. There were times when I was having so much fun I didn’t think it could get any better. And the next night would be even more insane. I might not have many running-around-until-five-in-the-morning nights left but there are plenty of good times still ahead.

So to all of you – goodbye, good luck and don’t forget to enjoy every single second.

Erin C. Donnelly was a senior in journalism. She is now an unemployed graduate who will always remember OSU as the home of some of her best memories. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].