According to Webster-Merriam Webster:

Graduation (graduation) //noun//

• a mark on an instrument or vessel indicating degrees or quantity; also : these marks
• the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma
• arrangement in degrees or ranks

Why is a graduation deemed important to not only the people graduating, but also the countless people who attend? Why do we get hung up on the materials associated with the ceremony: the cap, gown, diploma, and party? What makes the event special? How is any of this relevant to the present phases in life?

For many people, graduation is a rite of passage. Whether the time mark be kindergarten, sixth grade, high school, or college, graduation for many signifies the movement to a more mature state of being. During the hour to two hour long ceremony, many people come to the revelation that life is changing: the simple marker of the ceremony helps to tie different parts of a life together with one singular remembrance. The event helps people retain the past, but seek the future. They are multifaceted in their purpose, so much that to illustrate a universal meaning is impossible.

If could go back to high school graduation, I wouldn’t. I would have skipped the day altogether, just like I plan on not attending my college graduation in 2018. Truthfully, I detested my valedictorian speech, and would modify the words to express my discontent. That graduation is recognition of previous academic years is true. Where that truth goes astray is for who the graduation is preformed and why we stress event.

Despite the personal celebrations of the day, graduation is a collective event. The designated day marks the ending of one cycle and the beginning of an unique departure that will vary for each individual. There will be new fangled people, oddball jobs, and peculiar experiences...just like any other day. I do not see graduation as a final mark of adulthood, for I find that maturation has occurred over the course of years. There is no absolute ending to a cycle because like a slinky, each wire revolution is interconnected to the next.

The stress of graduation is unnecessary. Change in inevitable and progressive-- we don't need a day to know this. I wish people would send me "Congratulations!" in the form of flowers, cards, or hugs on random days, when I have ebbed a bad habit or taken a positive step in life. I think success should be celebrated every day and recognized as it occurs.

Understand that I value the sentimentality of walking a stage, changing the tassel from one side to the other. From the pool of people I asked, many stated the ritual is preformed for parents, friends, and extended family. I realize my dad wants the physicality of the time I have invested in academia; however, I find the praise he gives when I let him read a random research paper more rewarding.

Maybe I find the facade of graduation too staged. Given my craving for genuine interaction, the shake hand, smile for picture, and say thank you seems sub par, especially when conversing with people who normally don't care about others' success.

So while I appreciate the symboling threshold crossing, I will not participate in the forced single reminder. I wake every day and hope I am a better person than I was yesterday. To me, that change is success. A graduation is not just an end; it is the continuation of a life circle composed of never-ending change.

In short:Graduate everyday, not just once every few years.