It's graduation season, and this is the year you have been expected to graduate, only you aren't. For whatever reason it just didn't happen, and while all your peers are picking up their caps and gowns, there isn't one for you this May. They are taking senior pictures and sending out graduation invitations. Parties and celebratory dinners are being planned. Your calendar is packed with everyone's celebrations...except your own.
You have the urge to throw a childish temper tantrum and eat a tub of ice cream. Or maybe you'll leave for the summer or do literally anything but go to these other graduation parties. You're avoiding Facebook because you can't stand to see the graduation pictures and posts about how your friends have loved their college experience so much, but they are also happy to see it come to an end. You're settling into the realization that they're all moving on and you're staying in school.
This can be one of the most discouraging seasons in your life. You aren't scheduling your senior trip, you're scheduling fall classes. Instead of looking for jobs, you're trying to figure out if financial aid will cover your fifth year of college and how on earth you're going to pay for another year of books while you're holding down that waitressing job. I know how heartbreaking this can be. The worst part is all of your family members asking you, "So when are you graduating?" You want to just shrink into oblivion or give up altogether. Don't do it.
My biggest piece of advice is to grieve about it. Be sad, be upset, but don't let it deter you from celebrating with your friends. You will get there; it doesn't mean you have failed your college experience. It just means your story is different. If anything, get excited; you have some extra time. So focus on your grades and focus on your GPA. You might even be able to get into an organization on campus. Don't let this change in plans ruin your experience.
Go to all the graduation parties. Laugh and have fun with your friends. Celebrate with them and don't let your not graduating sour their graduating. Set out your goals. You're getting a second shot, what is your biggest focus? You need a GPA boost? Awesome, you get two more semesters to have a bomb GPA. If you're thinking you missed out on all those extra curricular activities, then make a plan to get involved this next year! You can make this your best year yet, so don't be bitter about the fact you didn't graduate, view this as an opportunity to make your second senior year rock.
You get to do your senior year over again. Make it count.
