The days that lead up to graduation are the hardest. The idea of having to leave your second home behind and move onto a new chapter in your life is extremely daunting. As we spend countless amounts of time preparing for the future with exams, projects, homework and essays, no one ever really prepares you for the array of emotions you’ll feel after walking across the stage to pick up your diploma. Before you even realize it, you’ll be starting your next adventure in college.
The connections I managed to make didn’t help when it came to me being able to start moving forward. The love the staff gave their students was something one may never see in their typical high school. The bonds between administrators and students were so strong, to the point that I could walk into my principal’s office at any time of the day, sit in there and hang out. Everything was changing. I just wanted to enjoy those last moments in familiarity before the uncertainty arrived. Looking back, I acknowledge how lucky I was to have something that made saying goodbye hurt so much.
The best way to effectively let go of the past is to be involved in the present. Since you may be new to the college scene, the first thing you really want to do is start finding connections — even if they don’t feel concrete. At the end of the day, it’s a great process for meeting the right people that you can instantly click with. Going to campus events (in a socially-distanced manner, of course), reaching out to someone in your Zoom class, and finding ways to keep busy are all steps in the right direction. Of course, going to a school with 70,000 students doesn’t make it easy to be known by many. However, you’d be surprised by what joining a club or reaching out to people on campus can do for you.
Right now, it may seem impossible to open up a yearbook so soon after graduating, but trust me, this new chapter will be just as memorable. If high school taught me one thing, it’s that meeting and making yourself known to others is the key to achieving your goals and creating a name for yourself. When the time comes, submerge yourself into everlasting ties and you could possibly impact a wider audience — at least that’s what I’m doing.