One Foot In, One Foot Out: The Senior Spring Experience

By Aliza Schub

I never thought that I could relate to the hokey pokey song: “You put your one foot in, you put your one foot out…and you shake it all about.” Aside from the shaking all about part, which I think is just for fun, I have been feeling the one foot in, one foot out struggle during my last semester here at Cornell. With one part of me looking forward to what comes beyond graduation, and the other part holding on to college for dear life for as long as I can, the conflict ensues. 

In my pursuit of attending graduate school, I’ve studied for a standardized test for the past few months. This has taken away from my goal of living in the moment for my last semester on campus. Not to mention that the pandemic makes ‘living in the moment’ way less fun to start. On multiple occasions, I find myself asking whether I should go with my friends to Ithaca Beer Co and Sumo or stay in and study? Or if it’s not studying, maybe it’s preparing for a job interview or finishing up the requirements for a minor. Whatever it may be, last semester seniors have many responsibilities that reach beyond the 14850 zip code.

These responsibilities have been getting in my way of knocking things off the very long, entertaining senior year bucket list in my Notes app. I just think to myself, “When do I have time to streak on the Arts Quad between all of my interviews and test prep!?” ;) If you’re a senior and you feel this way too, know that you’re not alone. 

I think what makes this one foot in, one foot out phenomenon so unique is that the end of college is a very specific feeling. When this briefly happened during my senior year of high school, there was still certainty in my next steps. I knew I was enrolled to go to Cornell for the following four years. This time, what’s out there is more unknown. And while it can be exciting to have the rest unwritten, it can also be scary. How can I mentally prepare for what comes next if I don’t know what it will be? 

While fear of the unknown makes me want to jump both feet right back into freshman and sophomore year of college, the adult in me continues to push forward towards whatever comes next. My only hope is that come May, my post-graduation plans will begin to crystallize - enough for me to chill out - so I can enjoy my last Ithaca spring to the fullest extent. That means meals outside on the Commons, swimming in the gorges, hiking through Watkins Glen, and enjoying every last scoop of Big Red Bear Tracks from the Dairy Bar.