Summer is arriving and the semester is almost over which means…graduation is just around the corner. It is funny how much this thought has conquered my mind but for all the wrong reasons. All of my roommates have been engulfed by the rush of graduation invitations, buying caps and gowns, and the excitement of their families coming together to see them finish this important life stage.
And hey, please don’t get me wrong, I am so proud of them, and seeing them getting their degrees makes me grin from ear to ear. But I can’t help feeling left behind. They are all seniors, and I am a rising junior which means that graduation day for me is still a good few months away. And I can’t help but wonder how I brought this upon myself by befriending upperclassmen, and also by taking a forced gap year.
For most of my last years, I have felt as if I was in the middle of a volleyball game. I see all my friends moving together towards the goal, being excited for the next set to come, and then there I am. I am left warming up the bench and seeing them from the sidelines as I cheer for them. I might be part of the team (their friend), but I am just not part of the actual game. It is frustrating and the nostalgia of the possibility of being alongside them drowns me, but honestly, there is nothing I can actually do.
So, if you are feeling like this too. If you are feeling the speed of the people you love just rush past you, I have something for you. A metaphor that has consoled me every time I think of these things.
Life is not a race, you are not competing to see who gets to the finish line first. Life is a big and long marathon. Everyone is working to get to the finish line but at their own pace. You may see people walking and enjoying the view. People jogging and keeping a steady pace. Others run for a little while then slow down to rest and then keep running. The point is that it doesn’t matter how the people around you are going about this marathon, only you know what pace works best for you, only you should care about the rhythm you want to work at. So don’t compare yourself to anyone, don’t go around thinking that you are being left behind or that you are too far back because we don’t know what life has next for us. All the things that happen to you and the situations put in your way are meant to happen for a reason. So you are ready for the next best thing.
Have a good end of semester y’all.