Jonathan Meyer.

This week, I took a day to help participate in an interview at Wartburg College. Right now, we’re hiring another music education professor, and the opportunity was thrown out to me to have a seat at the table. Being both a curious person and the student body president, I felt it was important for me to attend.

Between eating lunch and sitting through a teaching demonstration, both of which were enjoyable, I never expected to have a bit of an existential moment when it was all said and done.

After the interview activities wrapped up, I made my usual rounds around campus and talked with a few of the staff and faculty members I know who work year-round. Who would’ve thought that even though the students are gone, there are still people working on campus?

As I made my way around, I stopped to talk with our archivist, Kay, whom I’ve really come to appreciate. I’ve always enjoyed being around passionate people who know more about something I care about than I do. It’s hard not to have interesting conversations when you’re sitting in front of a literal archive full of your college’s history.

I also chatted with a few classmates and my advisor, which was nice. To be quite honest with you, when I’m not consistently on campus taking classes, I sometimes lose track of what my actual major is. Being a newspaper man and a lawn mower is vastly different from the life of a music education student that I live for nine months out of the year.

When everything was over, it kind of hit me.

I was introduced as a senior. I was introduced as the student body president.

And all of a sudden, I felt really old.

What added to that feeling was my gap year coming up in conversation with a few of the other music education students. In the spring, it really hit me that the graduating class was the exact same age as me. They all graduated high school in 2022, just like I did.

Not only did I feel old, but I also felt a little bit of reality creeping into my brain. In just a year’s time, my life will be in a completely different place. I’ll have almost all of my education behind me, and I’ll be stepping into whatever comes next.

Those are scary thoughts to have while eating a free, college-provided quesadilla, and asking questions to a music education candidate.

But for now I go back to my life as a simple town guy who loves the people and places around him.

My year in school might change. The job that I’m doing might change. But my core values won’t.

Until another realization, I’m just Jonathan.