You deserve every over-the-top Celine Dion song, sparkly Hallmark card, and tear-jerking cliche. You have completed thousands of assignments, attended hours of school, typed tons of essays, studied for hundreds of tests, and rolled your eyes at countless teachers.
But it has not all been for this moment.
No. This moment is not the cultivation of all of that. Thank goodness.
If all the effort, time, stress, tears, study, planning, and testing was for a measly second walking across a random university basketball court dressed in an oversized cloak, that would be a tragedy. It was not for the scholarship, or even the proud smiles of parents. Well, maybe partially.
High school has led up to the moment you find yourself in a stifled college dorm with a twelve page paper to write, a crying roommate outside your door, a mound of dishes in the sink, rent waiting to be paid, and a test coming up. Many of those things you did not experience in high school. College life is different, and adult problems slowly arise as you muddle through the learning curve of being a Freshman. The learning curve is higher for some, but it WILL be apparent.
And the expectations of exciting sports games, perfect dorms, plentiful and fantastic dates, much less stress, and absence of jumping through hoops will suddenly become very naive. Hoops still must be jumped through, answering to higher authorities continues to be a thing, the dating life might not live up to the hype, and roommates may forget to do their share of cleaning.
But you have to remember that these are the moments your life has literally led up to. Every second of growing, learning, forgiving, loving, and becoming have led up to those moments.
So when the horizon of opportunity and promise you pictured becomes a hazy path of detours and roadblocks, realize that every future comes with failures, trials, and choices. And when you think that life hasn't turned out like you had hoped, conjure up that "cap and gown enthusiasm" for life and remember that strong, hopeful person who stood at the brink of a new chapter and said, albeit naively, "I can't wait to see what the future holds."
I can't wait to see what you all are capable of. Go make your futures amazing. Amazingly you.
But it has not all been for this moment.
No. This moment is not the cultivation of all of that. Thank goodness.
If all the effort, time, stress, tears, study, planning, and testing was for a measly second walking across a random university basketball court dressed in an oversized cloak, that would be a tragedy. It was not for the scholarship, or even the proud smiles of parents. Well, maybe partially.
High school has led up to the moment you find yourself in a stifled college dorm with a twelve page paper to write, a crying roommate outside your door, a mound of dishes in the sink, rent waiting to be paid, and a test coming up. Many of those things you did not experience in high school. College life is different, and adult problems slowly arise as you muddle through the learning curve of being a Freshman. The learning curve is higher for some, but it WILL be apparent.
And the expectations of exciting sports games, perfect dorms, plentiful and fantastic dates, much less stress, and absence of jumping through hoops will suddenly become very naive. Hoops still must be jumped through, answering to higher authorities continues to be a thing, the dating life might not live up to the hype, and roommates may forget to do their share of cleaning.
But you have to remember that these are the moments your life has literally led up to. Every second of growing, learning, forgiving, loving, and becoming have led up to those moments.
So when the horizon of opportunity and promise you pictured becomes a hazy path of detours and roadblocks, realize that every future comes with failures, trials, and choices. And when you think that life hasn't turned out like you had hoped, conjure up that "cap and gown enthusiasm" for life and remember that strong, hopeful person who stood at the brink of a new chapter and said, albeit naively, "I can't wait to see what the future holds."
Oh and dear, dear graduates, the future holds nothing. It is your mind and heart that holds everything. Look forward to the hard times that force you to unveil what was there all along. That is what is worth anticipating.
I can't wait to see what you all are capable of. Go make your futures amazing. Amazingly you.
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