The Parting Glass

One of my favorite movies is Waking Ned Devine, just because it's so incredibly funny. This song plays at the very end of the film and pretty much sums up my feelings about graduation right now.

All the money that e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm I've ever done
Alas,It was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now,I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Goodnight and joy be to you all!

Fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate'er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
Goodnight and joy be to you all!

Of all the comrades that e'er I had
They're sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had
They'd wish me one more day to stay.
Since it fell into my lot
that I should rise,and you should not
I'll gently rise and softly call
Goodnight and joy be to you all!

But since it fell into my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and softly call
Goodnight and joy be to you all!

So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate'er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
Goodnight and joy be to you all!

It has fallen into my lot to leave this place and that's all right because it's time. I've been privileged to live, work, and study with some incredible women. I've been stretched and pushed beyond my comfort zone. And as I emerge on the other side of "the Meredith experience," I'm a better woman for it. I like who I've become, even though it's so different than who I thought I'd be when I came to this place four years ago. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I do know that I am blessed and loved. So, now it's time for me to gently rise and softly call 'Goodnight, and joy be to you all!'

And I'll be back. We have a saying here that "from the outside in, you can never understand it. From the inside out, you can never explain it" and the draw that Meredith has for every alumna is part of what we cannot explain. This place, not just the buildings and the grounds, becomes so much a part of you that you cannot sever ties completely. In 16 days, I may not be a student anymore, but I will always be a Meredith girl.