I’m sure by now you’ve probably realized that this is it. Your finals have been taken, your robe has been hemmed, and your new post-secondary school has been lined out. You’ve crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s. Now, it’s time to celebrate all of the memories you’ve made over the years, and the joy and (good) anxiety you have for the future.
Here’s the thing: graduation is definitely not the end of the world. Right now, you’re probably a solid 50/50 mix of relief from being an acne-ridden, AP-class-taking, cross-country geek, and on the other hand, you’re feeling the antagonizing pain of the question, “Where do I go from here?”
Let me tell you. You go a lot of places. You’ll face a lot more heartbreak, joy, stress, confusion, and anxiety than you think you’ll ever manage. You’ll drink lots of Rockstars while you’re closing the library down at 2am the night before your paper is due. But don’t worry, even when you’re studying for a Philosophy test or slugging through the work week, you’ll meet up with your friends and find some trouble to get into on the weekends.
You’ll meet people that high school could never offer you, and you’ll have group chats with your best friends from home (Shoutout to the FBP). You’ll visit your best friends’ universities and trust me, they’ll never be as good as yours. You’ll take pictures at tailgates you won’t remember, but love the rush of happiness you feel from seeing all of your friends surrounding you in your school colors.
You’ll cry over assholes who break your heart, but you’ll make them wish they had never seen you coming. You’ll change your major 12 times, then decide the first choice you left home with is obviously your dream. You’ll join a sorority (and guess what, your best friend will be in your sorority at another school!), a club, and a service or honors society and love the people you meet through it. You’ll get Sonic slushies with them, play cards at 12am with them, and lay on their beds after a party at 2am, discussing the weird but still somehow entertaining ideas you have.
You’ll make a lot of mistakes after you graduate. You’ll go to college, you’ll find yourself in your major, your sorority, and the best friends you could have—from home and college. You’ll miss your parents. You’ll change a lot, but still stay the same. You’ll meet someone and fall in love; you’ll irritate each other, go on dates, dance at weddings together, sometimes fight and love more than you thought you were capable of doing. You’ll grow up a lot. You’ll write and pursue your passion. You will make your career choice and start working towards it.
College is a great experience. It’s a paradox of doing things you shouldn’t be doing while doing exactly what you should be. You’ll create a mosaic of right and wrongs. You'll have all-nighters learning French verb tenses you forgot, stories to tell, and your perfectly imperfect best friends and boyfriend to share the memories with. Don’t worry, grad. Right now, take a deep breath, change over your tassel and toss the hat. Let it all roll out and let the good times roll.
