First, a background story:
I took those four years for granted. I wished, hoped and prayed they would end. I felt like time was moving in slow motion until one day, the day I put my cap and gown over my white dress. The day I looked into the audience to see my mother crying, my father smiling, my younger brother clapping and my grandmother shaking hands and snapping pictures.
My class and I rehearsed this many times over. Walk in pairs, watch for the juniors to tell you when to stand and sit, do not forget to shake with your right hand and grab your diploma with your left. So on and so forth. When I sat in the middle of the gym in that cold metal chair, after I just split from my walking partner (my best friend coincidently), and sat beside the girl whose name was always called before mine in alphabetical order since we were little, I felt time go faster than I had ever felt before. I watched every classmate walk the line, grab their diploma and return to their seat. I could practically smell the feeling of accomplishment swirling in the air as each row of people went before me. I was on the last row, but within 5 seconds those juniors were telling me to stand, and it was my turn to walk. I felt accomplishment flood my face when I shook my superintendent’s hand, and looked up to see my family cheering for me. “I made it,” I said to myself. “I finally finished the past twelve years of my life.” The only thing is, it did not hit me then.
Summer came and I was still hanging out with my high school buddies, feeling as if nothing ever changed. I spent a lot of time with my boyfriend (by the way, long-distance is awful but we made it work), who would be attending MTSU that fall while I would be heading to sweet little Martin. The place that held what my heart desired most, UTM. The only thing is, it did not hit me then.
After Summer was over and our college lives began, my friends and I slowly lost contact. A few of us joined Greek life, one of them got accepted into nursing school, one of them had a baby, one of them got engaged and many other events were occurring in their lives that made me ask myself, “Wow, are we really this old?” The only thing is, it did not hit me then.
The tricky thing about life after high school is it does not hit you when you are wearing that cap and gown, or the summer before your whole life will change or even the day your parents leave you at college after unpacking all your things and your heart is pumping so much from excitement you think you might faint. You see, it is none of those things at all.
It’s when you miss home so much, you feel it in your soul. It’s when you call your mom, and for the first time your voice shakes because you forgot how great it was when you could tell her goodnight every night. It’s when you realize your best friend is in a different time zone, and you cannot call her because she is already asleep.
The beautiful thing about college is it breaks down the parts of you that were created by those who influenced you during those twelve years, and you become a naked version of yourself. It makes you embrace the nights that make you feel lonely. It makes time slow down on the nights you are with people who mean everything to you, even though you only met them 9 months ago. College teaches you that it is not about who you have known the longest, but who has been there for you when no one else was.
So..
Dear High School Graduate,
Hold those memories close to your heart and prepare yourself for the big adventure you are about to embark on. Kiss your mom on the cheek tonight, tell your siblings how much you love them and keep in mind this is the last summer your room will truly feel like your room. Cherish these moments because one day it will be your first Spring Semester of college, and suddenly you are two weeks away from finals and you will wish you were sitting in that cold metal chair, watching the people you considered your family walk that line all over again.
With love,
A College Freshman