Letter #27 - Graduation -- An anticlimax

Dear readers,

I wasn't sure if I was going to write this, but since you're reading it, I guess I decided! 

If any of you are recent graduates or soon to be graduates, I am sure that the excitement of this event is well known to you. it has been for me too, hence the late arrival of this post.

Graduation, to most people, is a joyous event celebrating hard work and achievement. In the UK, I feel like it is an especially big deal given that it is our first official graduation since we don't have a high school counterpart, as is the case in other countries.

So I graduated a few weeks ago, and from the moment I handed in my dissertation, I was in this blissed out bubble of ease. Everything was fairies and rainbows and perfectly chilled. Until I had to officially move out of my flat and leave my friends and then graduate.

Now, the day itself was so incredibly hectic that you don't even register what happened until after the fact. Also, make plans with friends before the event so that you all know where to meet and what to do. I did not do this... And hence spent most of the time on my own searching for my friends like a loner. In 4 inch heels I might add. The horror! 

Another thing is that graduation is mostly for your family. No matter what else is getting on your nerves and no matter how bratty you want to be, just don't. Let them have a day to coddle you and be as embarrassing as they like, in their pride for you. They're just happy and proud and so they should be for having such an awesome child/sibling!

I'll say this however, three years of work amounted to a walk across a stage and as silly as it may sound if you haven't experienced it, it's the best walk you'll ever take. It's an "I did it" experience. You got past the stress, the drama, the late nights and the hopelessness and you survived to tell the tale.

If you're anything like me, you take like as a be all and end all affair and it really isn't that deep. But if it were, graduation certainly wouldn't be, and isn't, the be all and end all of life. It's a great task to achieve but it's not everything.

If you've read any of my other posts you'll know that I'm a worrier. That being the case, as soon as my exams were over, I couldn't help but think about what was next. I didn't think of graduation as an event, but rather as the end of an era. What would I do next? Where do I go from here?

I think that, our generation especially, has a harder time dealing with the uncertainty of life because we've grown up in a time when that uncertainty developed itself. Economic crises, lack of jobs and just the general discourse within the world has led to a sad state of affairs for us and yet we still persevere and find our joy. Whether you've gotten to that point or not, remember that the struggle is worth it.

It's an unnerving thought to have but one that many people, in their twenties, often go through. There's no such thing as a concrete plan and nor should you ever gamble on just one thing. That's a warning from experience. 

But that is not at all to say that you shouldn't give your all to your career or life plan or passion. You absolutely should! It's only through hard work that we can get to where we want to be. I'm just saying that if plans change, don't let it break your heart. Pick yourself up and start again. Maybe something better will come your way.

Anyway that's enough existential rambling from me. I only really wanted an excuse to put up my graduation photos...

Until next time, be inspired...

Love, Z