To The New Grads, Photogs and Everyone In Between

I admit I’ve been a bit off with my timing lately. I totally forgot about the graduation season (although one of my very close friends just graduated) and it’s a ga-zillion degrees outside yet as I am typing these very words, I am covered in 2 layers of clothing and a jacket. #insaneinthemembrane

I can only think of a million posts I could’ve shared with you guys like “tips of what to wear for graduation” or something of the like but instead, I’m going to share my sentiments with you. You know, I sort of think that’s better.

Let me tell you a funny story…

I only found out I was viable to graduate on the night before our graduation itself… at around 8:00 in the evening! Clearance signing is a bit different if you’re a nursing student and let me tell you, the road to my graduation was a long, bumpy and agonizing road!

To make a long and very emotional story short, I eventually did graduate after a lot of tears, pleading and raging. On the day of my graduation, and I think everyone of CDU BSN 2012 can attest to this, I was perhaps the most emotional person amongst all 700+ of us. Man was I a mess! I cried to entire time from the graduation march to the receiving of diplomas and I was even crying when I received my special sports award. There are no nice pictures of that day, I tell you!

And honestly, I wasn’t crying because I was sad that I was leaving college. I was crying because I was relieved that I was finally done with it because I strongly disliked college. I was lifted because my 4 years of torture had come to an end, I was free from fulfilling other people’s dreams (nursing. Need I say more?) and I was ecstatic to finally start fulfilling my own.

So my message to all the graduates is:

Congratulations! It’s time to start making your dreams a reality. Carefully but diligently fill your book with lessons from the real world- travel, fall in love with life, get a new hobby and learn as much as you can. Learn the things that college could never teach you and let nothing hold you back now because, nothing should be holding you back! Correct your mistakes, make up for lost time, get lost and find yourself in the wreckage. Do something out of the box, find your dream job and try not to settle for less. Find your direction or at least try to map out where you want to be and where you’re headed. Don’t let the past traumatize you and don’t let the future intimidate you. And please, do it for me, enjoy every passing moment. The world is yours for the taking and isn’t that invigorating?

Change is inevitable and even my mom can vouch for that (despite how old she is) so don’t just roll with the punches, be a bad ass bitch and punch back! Be grateful everyday no matter how hard it is and always try to remember, things could be worse- you could be wearing an expensive mink coat and have animal rights activists cover you in paint and set you on fire! And lastly, don’t forget the people who’ve always had your back. Success isn’t fun when you have no one to share it with.