Yesterday, I turned in my final grades for the semester. While there are still some final workshops, meetings, and celebrations in the coming days, another academic year has ended. This one was full of learning for me. It was a weird cocktail of embracing and fighting reality while trying to always focus on what matters most to me.  A Growing Family Anyone who has not been a Posse Mentor can not fully appreciate what this responsibility entails. Each mentor approaches it differently, but the ten students I spend time with weekly are viewed as extended family members in my heart. They know I’m there for them in ways that I can’t be for all students, and watching them all struggle and thrive this year kept me going on the darkest days.  It baffles me that their first year of college is complete, and they are now sophomores. Some have found love. Others have started new clubs.…