Imagine May 10th, 2014, proud parents, family, and friends coming from all over the United States and out of the country to Hampton University for their child’s or loved ones graduation. Feelings of relief, high expectations and excitement are in the air. The graduate is feeling every emotion imaginable from stress, fear, nervousness to confidence and pride but the main feeling is, “Wow I actually made it!” Now envision being seated in the crowd knowing that you should have been a part of that graduating class. You are happy for your friends and enjoying their moment but deep inside you are feeling regret and sadness because you didn’t accomplish what they did in four years. You feel like you let your parents, family, friends and yourself down. What makes this feeling worse is that everyone keeps telling you,” You have next year”. Exactly what does that mean having an extra semester or year is so awe-inspiring or thrilling.
Graduating college is a huge step in anyone’s life and should be handled with care. It is a major event that takes time, patience, organization, intellect and finances. After being in college for four and a half years, I finally realized that I have to go at my own pace and stop living up to others expectations. People laugh and say things like “You’re Onyx 9 shouldn’t you be gone,” or “Why are you still here?” Getting into college is a difficult process but graduating is even more difficult. You have to take so many factors into consideration and money is number one. My class dwindled down through the years resulting from the increase of tuition. Many classmates just could not afford to come back.
Number two was failing or dropping classes. From experience, I’ve learned I would rather drop a course than to fail. Every student should avoid both, so study as often as possible because even dropping a class might result in delaying your graduation. Third is life, what I mean by life are those unexpected moments that can affect your college education. Some things are totally out of your control, but you have to push forward. I never thought my freshman year I would’ve suffered from depression due to a personal illness. I almost could not come back for my sophomore year, but when life throws you a curve ball use it to your advantage. I came back my sophomore year saying “Find success in your failure”. I never looked back. When all factors are taken into account everyone should see how graduating college is the number one priority. It does not matter how old you are or how many years it took you, it is still a huge accomplishment. With my extra semester I am utilizing my time to build my portfolio and focus on getting a job after graduation. My extra semester has been very helpful rather than a hindrance.
So for all my Onyx 9 classmates who are still here at Hampton, continue to stay motivated! It will all pay off in the end. To the other classes on campus, try to be understanding. Everyone’s situation is different so please encourage and don’t tear others down.