lifeaftercollege

That is what happened to me 3 weeks ago today. Three weeks ago, I waited in a line, handed my name card to the Dean, and waited with bated breath for him to call my name. Thus began the final walk. You smile at him, shake hands, and then move on to the President of the college, who is waiting with that fake piece of paper (since they won’t give you your actual degree). You get to him, shake his hand, he says congratulations, and then you continue to the last stop…the photo. By this point, you are on cloud nine, thinking that nothing can get you down, because you just got your degree. You make a proud pose for the awkward looking photographer, then head back to your seat, amidst all of the screams and waves. Oh crap, there’s mom and dad. Gotta stop, smile and wave. Hurry up and take this picture mom, I swear, you never know how to work a camera.

As you get back to your seat, you are quite possibly brimming with energy. You are so damned excited A) because you are about to be done with school and B) because the longest ceremony of your life is coming to a close. Ok, everyone is back in their seats now and the President has returned to the podium. It’s time for some wise last words. Be good, stick to your morals, work hard, yadda yadda yadda. Then, the most exciting part comes. This is the part when the audience starts to slowly begin to roar again, because they know the proclamation is coming. You have chills down your spine and probably tears in your eyes as the President says, I now pronounce you………..GRADUATED!

Crap, do I throw my hat? Maybe I will mark it so I can find it. Will the tassel fall off? No, I better not throw it. Oh, you’re going to throw it? Maybe if I just try and throw it straight up…

The hats fly, the crowd and graduates roar and the recessional music begins to play. There’s a point somewhere between the ceremony and the reception that your confident steps begin to weaken at the knees as the reality of… well, reality, sets in…

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