Where do I go from here?

As I pop off the cap to what may very well be my thousandth beer and promptly begin to pour its contents down my throat, I can't help but notice a change. Maybe it's the nine percent alcohol-by-volume, but it's more than likely the fact that I celebrated my 21st birthday this week.
There's nothing like turning 21 years old and buying alcohol for your first time. You stop to take a look back at where you came from, but also to the future and where you're headed.
Five years ago, I had just turned 16 years old and was a sophomore at Ballston Spa High School. At the time, I couldn't wait to get out of town and go on to live my life. Looking back now, though, I realize that I was lucky to have grown up in that town.
It's not the town itself that I often find myself longing to see, but the people I left behind who still live there. My closest friends growing up are still there and spend almost every day together.
I told myself that when I left for Buffalo, things wouldn't change between us. They would forever be the people I could always count on. While my core group of friends still falls under that category, I can't help but think of all the people that I used to see every week and who I now haven't communicated with in years.
As much as I hate growing apart from the people who made growing up so much fun for me, I know that part of my life is over and I have to move on. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I was alone when I came to Buffalo for my freshman year. Since I was born, I had lived in Ballston Spa and had spent every day with the same people for 18 years. This put me at a disadvantage; I realized that until that moment, I never had to go out and make new friends.
Fortunately for me, though, I was placed on the third floor of Goodyear Hall. No other spot on campus means as much to me as that floor. It was there, during a rather intense session of hallway dodgeball, that I met the people I'm happy to call my housemates and best friends.
They, along with everyone else I have become friends with over the past two years, are responsible for making UB more fun then I could've ever imagined, and for that I am forever in their debt.
It's with them that the next year-and-a-half of my life will be spent, and I can hardly wait to see what trouble we can get ourselves into. But once those 18 months are up, it's over. From that point, the path becomes blurred.
My college career is more than halfway over and my aspirations for life are still shrouded in mystery even from myself. I know I would like to work in journalism for the rest of my life, but that's the extent of it.
Maybe I will head to Cleveland where my favorite magazine is based. Or maybe even farther, to the West Coast. I'm not sure. All I know is that I'm going to make the absolute best of my remaining time here and make sure I have no regrets.

E-mail: james.twigg@ubspectrum.com