After 6 solid months of paperwork, worrying about the processing of said paperwork, and “oh here have some more paperwork”, I am actually done. My registration forms, housing forms, health forms, final transcripts, and and first tuition payment are all sent, processed, and done with. I think the last time I felt this depressurized was about a year and a half ago, before SAT test prep and college application stress kicked in. The whole process has most definitely been worthwhile, and I’ve learned a lot from it, but I’m happy to be out of that phase.

I said the first set of many goodbyes tonight, as my junior classes let out for the summer. I said goodbye to my much beloved students, and then to my peers in the teens class. The adults class will run for another 6 weeks, so thankfully saying goodbye to my senseis will be put off until then.

Karate classes have been such a big part of how I define myself for the past 4 1/2 years, and particularly for the last 2, I’m not quite sure what I’ll have to say, the next time somebody asks what I’ve been up to lately. Who I am is the girl who’s at karate, Monday nights, Tuesday nights, Wednesday nights. I’m training my students, who are amazing, I’m in the teens class, training with people who I love to death. I’m working with and training under my sensei, which is an experience I wouldn’t give up for anything. And now, some hugs, some high fives, and a group picture later, that’s come to a close. My sensei said, “And let us bid a warm farewell to Olivia, and David, as they are leaving this year”, and that was that.

I am excited to have a largely blank slate, to be able to go into college and the next few years with the chance to re-forge my definition of myself, to allow new things and new people to make their way onto my list of things important to me. But I will still dearly miss the people and things that previously held top spots on that list. It’s been an awesome 4 years.

I just finished my last promotions at my karate dojo. I tested (some of) my students, shook their hands as they were promoted, helped with the demonstrations, and was once again reminded of what an amazing group of people I will be leaving behind when I leave for college this fall. Karate has afforded me a million fantastic experiences over the years; looking out over rows of happy, proud students (with their proud parents behind them), with new stripes and new belts, knowing what it took for them to get there, and being so proud of them for it, is another memory that I am so lucky to be able to take with me when I go out into the world.