When I realized that I would be graduating at a different time than some of my classmates and many of my friends, I felt very dismayed. I felt like the celebration of me accomplishing something so large was not as exciting as it would be if I had finished at the end of Spring, when everyone typically graduates and walks. Coming to terms with the fact that I wouldn't be finishing school at the typical time that everyone else would had me thinking that I'm not the only one who's finishing in December, so I'm not the only one with these thoughts.
Did I really graduate?
Finishing college in December, when you're supposed to be graduating "on time" with everyone else at the end of the spring semester, may lead to an existential crisis. This is because graduating at a different time than everyone else makes people feel left out or like they are doing something wrong. But, it's not wrong, and it's completely normal to finish a semester late or a semester early. These days, students aren't graduating at exactly four years, so it's completely normal to not be graduating at the exact time you have to do the ceremonial walk. Yes, you might have to wait a while before you can actually have the diploma in your hands, but you are a graduate.
There's no large celebration
Let's be real, the only celebration a December graduate will probably get in December is a fancy dinner at Hibachi or a night out for drinks during happy hour. Since graduating in December means graduating around the holidays, no one really has time to meet up when they're all going to ugly sweater parties. You can still celebrate with endless alcohol, but you'll have to do it at your parents annual family Christmas party.
Does anyone even know?
If you don't post it on Facebook with some inspirational quote and a picture of you on your first day of college compared to now, did graduating really happen? No one is going to know that you graduated because everyone assumes that people can only graduate college after the spring semester, so announcing being a graduate in December is not as exciting. And, since you likely hadn't walked yet because many schools only have one commencement each year, many people don't really believe it until there's something to really prove it. As they say, pics or it didn't happen.
Do I look for a job or hang out?
After being in school for your entire life, the first thing you're going to want to do is take a couple of months off from working full time, jumping into an internship, or starting graduate school. Even extremely talented, successful, motivated people can get burned out and after studying endlessly for years and years, everyone deserves some sort of break before the rest of their life starts. Because you graduated earlier than your friends and might not have walked at graduation yet, there's less expectation to jump into a career and you don't have to feel as guilty taking a break from the real world for a month or so before applying to jobs.
