There is no stranger feeling than seeing your twin accept his diploma from the crowd rather than standing next in the procession line. The beautiful graduation pictures of your middle school peers flood your camera roll and social media, but you're "not graduating on time." Everywhere you look you see success from your friends and/or family, which should be lifting your heart to cloud nine.
Keyword "SHOULD."
You've told yourself from the beginning of school 16 years ago that you would be walking side by side with them.
Keyword "YOU."
No matter how strongly you feel you need to fit into "society's mold," all that worrying is for nothing.
Whether you chose to take a break, transferred schools, switched majors, joined the armed forces, or was held back by family or financial problems, you are doing just fine. Life changes for no expected reasons. You don’t need society to tell you that. We all have our obligations, and we all have our own unique paths. So what if it took you a little longer to decide where your passion lies? Anyone with a heart will hear you out if your terminally ill loved one needed your attention more so than your homework. Your future employers will applaud you to see your determination to work full time while attending classes.
SEE ALSO: An Open Letter To Those Not Graduating On Time
Confiding to the norm is nothing to hold over someone. The people that do serve no purpose to your success as those who back you as you strive for your dreams. Chasing your dreams is for you and those who have shown unconditional support. Once you recognize this, the diploma-less blues will fade away.
What can you do to help quicken the end of the depression? Keep busy. Apply for an online internship that benefits your major or outside interest. Help out at the local animal shelter to get your puppy and volunteering fix. Sponsor a food drive with your friends. Teach yourself a new skill you’ve always been interested in. Keep your heart and mind open to new lessons and memories. Immerse yourself in the community around you as you learn from nature’s teachings.
Be involved with anything that will better you. Be involved in real life. Your future employer would much rather see a well rounded, secure person than a rushed graduate with little life experience. Use the extra time to find your place in the world, and make every move to benefit your future.
You have your goal in mind, now do your absolute best to achieve it. Graduation season should be your motivation to keep striving for higher grounds rather than sink to the bottom of your uneasy mind. Do good for yourself and for the world, and you’ll be prepared to take on life once you graduate.
Above anything, make sure you support your loved ones as they have supported you. This is their time to shine, they’ll glisten with you by their side. Let them become your newest role models, and one day you’ll become theirs.
