Another year winds down for Warhawks. There has to be some glitch in the system, right?

Just yesterday, we cheered for the football team and flocked to Starbucks for Pumpkin Spice lattes. We donned our masks for Mardi Gras. We poured our hearts into studying and showed up to class even when we didn’t feel like it.

Sweaters and leggings were traded for shorts and t-shirts, and spring break offered a temporary freedom. But in a blink of an eye, the year is almost past.

Many Warhawks look forward to summer and a return to the nest in the fall. But some Warhawks prepare to leave the nest for good.

There used to be so many firsts, but for graduating hawks there are so many lasts.

For roughly four years, ULM has been home. It’s safe and secure and all we know.

We’ve clambered to the edge of the nest and jumped many times. Whether for internships, interviews or vacations, we knew home would be waiting when we returned.

But now, the next jump is into a big world of adulthood and opportunity. It’s exciting and a little scary.

It’s also easy to let stress and nervous energy ruffle feathers.

But these are the final moments of our undergraduate career. Remember to laugh. Breathe. Enjoy the present before it’s a memory. Soon, we’ll flap our wings and fly away.

We’ll grow and mature, find successes and learn from failures.

The wind may take us in many directions, but one thing will stay the same:

We are Warhawks. That will never change.