Even If It's Not For You, Graduate.

As a fifth-year senior, it can be the EASIEST thing to just say "Screw it. I'll be a stripper!" And drop out of college. But what keeps you going? After being so exhausted, what makes you graduate? After all of the assignments and stress, what makes you have momentum? What are your reasons to graduate?

For your parents

Think about it, how long have your parents dreamed of the day that they can sit in an auditorium and watch their child walk across the stage, hear your name announced, and cheer for you. If you do not want to graduate for yourself, graduate for the amount of stress you have put your parents through.

For your younger siblings

If you have younger siblings, they should be one of the top five people you graduate for. Whether you know it or not, your younger siblings look up to you like no other. Setting an example for them is part of our job as older siblings. I will also be the first to say that when I started college, I told my sister over and over "Don't do it. Don't go. You're going to hate it." But now that I have earned an Associate degree and am working towards my Bachelor, I encourage my younger brother to do one or the other so much. It is the one thing I want to see him do.

For you professors

Whether you've enjoyed all of your professors throughout your college career or not, the amount of time, energy, and hope they have put into every single student is immeasurable. If you do not want to graduate for yourself, graduate for the people that have put their time and energy into your degree.

For the job you don't know you want yet

Let's face it, most of us do not know exactly what we want to do after graduating college and if you do, you're ahead of a lot of us. So instead of saying that your degree doesn't apply to what you're wanting to do post-grad, try saying that it may apply to the future career you want. I am currently a stage management major, but I want to be an event coordinator after graduation. I could sit around and say that I have no need for this degree, but everything I have done within my degree applies to me becoming an event coordinator. So graduate for your future career.

For all the long hours (and money) you've already put in

Real talk, college is EX-HAUST-ING and EX-PEN-SIVE. If you don't graduate, think of the amount of loans, cash, and paychecks you have spent on tuition alone. Not to mention the amount of hours and class time you have already devoted to your degree. If you do not graduate, you are taking all of those hours and money and throwing them down the drain.

For your future self

As someone who has earned an Associate degree, the feeling of graduating three years after high school makes it that much easier to remember that feeling for two years later with my Bachelor degree. It made me feel like I accomplished something and like I had already bettered my future self. Earning a bachelor degree, whether you want to or not, will not only help your current self but will also help your future self.

I also realize that there are situations where people can not earn a degree right now and choose to go back to school and complete it. All I'm saying is whether you do it now or you do it later, at least you've earned it and you can feel that much more accomplished. So, class of 2019, let's finish our last three and a half months left of college and get this bread.