At this point, I have attended three graduations, not including my own from high school. I attended my brother's high school graduation, and the graduations for Rollins College Classes of 2015 and 2016. Although I only have my high school graduation under my belt when it comes to graduation experiences, I've noticed that the feelings I've encountered at a graduation that is not my own differ each time.
I will say without hesitation that graduations, whether you're a part of them or just supporting someone, are long. Crammed into a gymnasium on uncomfortable bleachers and having to stare down at the speaker while they go on and on about graduation can be repetitive. I believe the words and phrases, "passion", "inspiring", "only the beginning" and "the best has yet to come" are used approximately five million times during a graduation no matter the event. However, it's something that has to be put up with. While some speakers were actually interesting, I found that the amount of time given to awards and speakers could have been cut in half so that we did not have to start reading names until over an hour into the ceremony.
With my little complaint out of the way I'll go onto my real observation. After speaking with many of the graduates for the classes of 2015 and 2016, I noticed that all of them, no matter how "stable" their future seemed, were afraid. High school graduation is one thing, since usually by that point you have a clue about where you're going to be spending the next four years. However, college graduation means that you're entering into a great unknown. Except for those going to grad school, most are going to be experiencing the first time in their life when they don't have school as their occupation.
That being said, watching the entire thing take process has had mixed reactions on me. When I first attended the graduation for the class of 2015, I found myself somewhat relieved. I had just finished my first year of college and still had three ahead of me. Yes, I was aware of how scary life would be outside college, but that's for me to think of later, not now!
Now we've reached the graduation for the class of 2016. I'm not saying I had a full-fledged freakout, not at all. However, it did make me realize how quickly time has gone by. I remember sitting through the graduation for the class of 2015 so well, and to be in the same place (and nearly the same seat) as the year prior proved to me that yes, college does go by in the blink of an eye. Half of my college career is over, done, zip, gone. The weight of it all is incredible.
Our time spent in college goes by fast. When we're kept busy by Greek life, homework, classes, organizations, friends and who knows what else, we forget to take a moment to breath. So that's what I did at graduation, I took a moment to calm down and reflect on where I've been and where I'm going to go when I graduate in two years. And then immediately after my friend received her diploma I left an hour early because I was so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore. Regardless, graduation should allow us to reflect on our lives, and I am most definitely dreading mine.
