"We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time." Excuse me while I borrow a line from Taylor Swift's 22 as I try to put my feelings about post-grad life into words. Who am I kidding, I can relate to the Queen of Pop's words all the time. All my confusing feelings about being a 21-year-old have heightened being that I am fresh out of school, having no real sense of direction of where I'm going in life. No longer a child, but not quite an adult either. Man, I had no idea the post would turn dire so quickly, let me do a 360 degree turn and share some bits & pieces of my graduation day with you:
June 14th was a special, yet overwhelming day. It was the day of my college commencement, a bittersweet milestone marking the end of four beautiful years spent in college, while introducing a new chapter of my life. That morning was hectic, to say the least. My housemates and I were running around the apartment, greeting family and friends, while getting ready for the whole ceremony. To think it got that crazy on a graduation day, I can't begin to imagine how a bride must feel on her wedding day. My friends and I actually joked about that, thinking this was probably nothing compared to a wedding day. After having my roommate's aunt touch up on my eye makeup and put on some fake eyelashes, I was out the door for the ceremony check-in, but not before devouring two chocolate chip cookies. I considered that my breakfast.
In the summer-like heat, cheers and celebratory moods filled the air, as the Class of 2015 made its way into the official ceremony. It was an amazing feeling seeing all the proud faces of parents and loved ones. The ceremony lasted a little over an hour, but felt longer being that we were seated under the blazing sun. As for the moment of walking on stage to receive my diploma, honestly, everything from the handshake to receiving a scroll felt like a blur. I was too focused on listening for my cue to walk on stage, and trying to avoid tripping that I couldn't process everything in time. Or in other words, I was nervous. It wasn't until after I returned to my seat that I realized there was photographer who was only standing a few feet away from me on stage, capturing the once-in-a-lifetime moment. (facepalm)
After the ceremony, the real photo sessions broke out. From left and right, high and low, pictures were taken from all sides and all angles. Looking back, it was quite possibly the last time everyone will be together in one place. Now that college is over, we are all going our separate ways, as we embark on the next chapter of our lives. Who knows when the next time I'll be seeing all the amazing people I've met in college, knowing that life will most likely get in the way. The hardest part of all the goodbyes wasn't the fact I'll be leaving the place I've called home for the past four years, it was leaving the people (friends, professors, co-workers, mentors, etc) that made my experience here in college all worthwhile. I'm going to miss my roommates the most. All those late-night talks, spontaneous gym sessions, baking adventures, and long study nights may not sound much to an outsider, but they mean a lot to me and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it all. Though we are all in different places, I believe that sometimes distance brings out the best friendships, and true friends are never apart, even when the distance says otherwise. The quote below says it better:
"True friends never apart maybe in distance but never in heart"
- Helen Keller
As always, onto my favorite part: photos!
As always, onto my favorite part: photos!
{ with my roommates; p.s. I'm on the left }
{ commencement; stage is the white tent on the left }
{ seated for the ceremony }
{ cued to walk on stage }
{ after the commencement ceremony }
{ being silly }
{ family selfie as a post-graduate !! }
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