Summer is starting, the sun is blazing, the air is humid, and it’s graduation season. But you’re not graduating... That was, oh yeah, a year ago. Now you're just an incoming college sophomore… where did the time go?
I remember the day of my high school graduation like it was a just a year ago… because it was. So much has happened in the 365 days since I walked across a stage in a cap and gown and said see ya! to the crazy, fun filled era of my high school years. I wouldn’t take any of it back, because college is awesome, but I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy recently when I saw that there are already a new batch of high school grads in caps and gowns smiling for pics on social media. (Congrats class of 2k16!). I am so happy for my friends and relatives who are graduating this year, but it also feels strange to see how fast time can go by.
You might be feeling some of these same emotions. You may feel a little silly for feeling the way that you do, but don’t, because its completely normal. The end of senior year was crazy and exhilarating. As seniors, we counted down the days until it was finally our last day of high school. We heard the last bell ring and wished that we could pull a High School Musical 2, throwing our papers in the air and break out into song. There was a kind of bond between everyone, and we all seemed friendlier to one another, because we knew that we would never be together like we were, ever again.
There was excitement, a constant flutter in our stomachs, we couldn’t believe high school was coming to a close, but we were SO ready to move on to the next chapter. We all want to feel like we are going somewhere, like there is a whole new world that awaits us. That’s how we felt when we graduated from high school. We’d stuck it out, and accomplished something, and nothing beats that feeling. It was like the end to a roller coaster of a movie that made us feel every emotion in our body, some parts we laughed at, and others were plain cringe worthy, but regardless, now the credits were rolling and we were baking in the glory of all the memories and trials we had faced. If any one of us could have captured the feeling in a bottle we would have.
But now, high school is over, graduation was a year ago, and you are now most likely a college student, trying to make your own way in the world while also trying to enjoy life and not think about all the student loan debt you’ve begun to acquire. Just know that high school is only the first of many amazing times in your life. It’s OK to miss it a little bit, and it’s OK to feel a little sad. It was the movie that you now realize you never wanted to end, but guess what? You’re living the sequel now. The amazing, jaw-dropping, even better than the first movie, sequel. (forget what people normally think about sequels). Let this serve as a reminder: Life is just beginning for you. So smile, acknowledge how your feeling but don’t let it take over, and live the sequel. Life is too fun in the present to long for the past.
