Graduating seniors, listen up.
In just a few short weeks, you will be lining up in alphabetical order while wearing a cap and gown of your school's colors. You will walk in an orderly fashion to your seat that is in front of thousands of proud families, friends, and faculty.
This process will feel like an eternity because in those minutes that you are following the person in front of you, you will have millions of flashbacks running through head.
You will remember learning the alphabet in kindergarten and doing multiplication in third grade. You will recall the volcano you made in fifth grade and receiving your promotion certificate in eighth grade. You will think about your first high school assembly that you actually dressed up for and the tenth-grade teacher that made class worth attending. You will flashback to your senior prom that was only months ago and when you begged people to sign your yearbook on your last day of public school education.
Before you know it, you will be sitting down and telling yourself that you are so happy all of this is over. You are happy that there is no more dress codes, no more early mornings and no more fake friends. You will smile proudly when you realize you don't have to take classes you don't care about and that you will never have to see your ex-lovers ever again.
In the midst of your thought process, the graduation speakers will take the stage and you will tune in. Often times they begin by congratulating you on your success so far. Then they talk about how you can achieve anything you put your mind to and that college is a world of exploring who you want to be. Before they exit the stage they usually end with encouraging you to never stop pushing yourself until you have reached your dreams. But there are a few things that graduation speeches always fail to entail.
They fail to talk about how high school made you think you had to take A.P Comp & Lit or Honors Chemistry in order to achieve your future dreams. Maybe you want to produce big blockbuster movies, or start your own clothing brand. Maybe you want to get involved in politics or be a veterinarian. Maybe do cancer research or car mechanics.
Everyone’s goals and dreams are unique and the ways to fulfill each one is limitless. This means there are infinite ways to achieve every single one, that is some good news if you ask me. The fact that there is not just one certain path to success and happiness even though that’s what you may have been made to believe these last four years.
They fail to talk about how college is going to be lonely for some of you. College is about meeting new people who have the same interests as you and joining the dozens of clubs on campus that relate to you. But if you are like me in any way, it's going to be super hard for you to meet new people and every club meeting you go to will make you feel like an outcast.
I promise you this: you will meet people who are going to change your life, you will find something to be apart of, and things will get better. There are going to be so many opportunities to discover incredible new things about yourself and step out of your comfort zone. That is the part of college that everyone remembers, even more than your studies.
They fail to talk about how high school probably gave you anxiety but you will learn to overcome it. I know too many people who developed anxiety issues throughout high school because they tried so hard to increase their chances of getting into a 'prestigious' college. They piled on too much for themselves which made it difficult to remain calm, healthy and happy.
Also for some reason, school is very competitive and labels you with numbers by how well you are doing in classes which can add to the stress of any student. It is so important in your years to come, to find an environment that challenges you but does not torture you the way high school did. Do not forget that everyone's goals are different which means the path is too.
No matter if you go to community college, a four-year university, the military, or nothing at all just know that your life has no script to it. Do things because you want to — travel, hold three jobs, start a YouTube channel, be innovative, be a leader, fall in love, risk everything you have and never put anybody's happiness before your own. You do not need to know what you want to do for the rest of your life right now. Do not buy into society's definition of success and create your own path.
The future is in your hands. Run with it.
