Written by Olivia Jenkins, Edited by Gaina Davila
If you asked me four years ago to envision my graduation day, I would not describe walking down the staircase in my purple bathrobe as my father asks Alexa to play “Pomp & Circumstance.” Life is full of unexpected moments and it’s fair to say that we are living in one of those moments now...one that feels like an eternity.
I’ve dreamed about life after graduation for years and somehow, now that it’s here, this feels like I’ve graduated into an episode of “Punk’d.”
Most college students would agree that attending online classes via Zoom feels reductive to the years of blood, sweat and tears we’ve spent working towards achieving a tangible measure of success. I’ve dreamed about life after graduation for years and somehow, now that it’s here, this feels like I’ve graduated into an episode of “Punk’d.”
I have questioned how my college education prepared me for a time like this. The answer? It didn’t. I was not prepared to face a global crisis during the most formative years of my life. However, I’m fortunate to have parents who always encourage me to shift my perspective when I feel like the world is ending. I know it’s not. While my graduation day was not what I envisioned, I’m grateful for the four years that I spent getting to know myself and the world intellectually, spiritually, and creatively. Those are lessons no global pandemic can cancel.
Those are lessons no global pandemic can cancel.
It’s important for me to acknowledge that I won’t always be in a good mood. Many of us are not. It’s even more important to know that no one is expecting that of me. It is a time to feel disappointed. It is a time to feel scared. Yet, it is also a time to hope because a dream deferred is not a dream denied.
Yet, it is also a time to hope because a dream deferred is not a dream denied.
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