“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Do you remember reading your absolute favorite book? The one you waited months to get and then there it was, in your hands, ready to proverbially change your life.By the last chapter, you were thoroughly committed to the characters, plot lines, locations–the entire essence of the novel.

…And then, it’s over. You turn the last page and find yourself at those expendable blank pages towards the back.

That feeling is always so bittersweet. I remember finishing the Harry Potter series for the first time (aka last Christmas) and felt like important people in my life were suddenly gone forever!

Lately, I have found that several important chapters in my life are drawing to a close, most recently my time at Lee University. While I don’t graduate until May and will technically still be a Lee student, I’m not even going to be in the country in 50-something days, let alone walking down Bowman Avenue or haunting the Walker Memorial Building. It’s bittersweet, but I’m ready to go.

There can be such a peace about leaving and closing doors. I may be totally stretching the analogy, but it’s like with a beloved book. You can either look at the blank pages in the back as  the proverbial nails in the coffin of the story or as an invitation for a handwritten epilogue. Hellen Keller once said “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all”: who says the conclusion of a chapter in life means the absolute end?

These are the good old days. 

To quote Helen Keller ( that girl gets it) once more,

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

So if, like me, you currently find yourself on the last page of a chapter with several blank pages following, don’t despair. Grab a pen and start something new!