From the panic attacks during the all-night study sessions for that test you thought you would fail to the nights with friends celebrating being young and being free, to the last soccer game you will ever play with your team. It feels like you’ve been through just about everything that life can throw at you. So here we are. The time is finally here, you’ve been waiting and working so hard for this and it has finally come: you’re graduating from college. They’re going to call your name, and you are going to walk across tofirst hat-firsthat stage, shake hands with important people, have your tassel flipped, and receive a piece of paper that symbolizes years of accomplishments, all of the things you went through to get here.
At least this is what you thought. The world had a different plan for your graduation. The class of 2020 doesn’t get to experience all of these amazing moments we looked forward to. The world is hurting in so many ways right now, so it’s hard to dwell on a situation when people have been hurting more. Although as much as the world is hurting so are the fellow 2020 graduates. We were robbed of one of the best experiences anyone can have.
Being a first-generation college student finding out you did not get the same opportunities as others were heartbreaking. You found out during spring break that you were no longer going to be able to finish your senior year of college. Leaving for spring break was so exciting, getting a little break from school was nice. Cofirst-generationming back to campus after school got canceled and seeing the ghost town that it turned into really took a toll. Thoughts came to mind as you pulled up to your apartment this is it, this is how my college career ends, how devastating. Years of hard work not only for yourself but for your family as well. Being a first-generation college graduate is a huge deal. You have set the tone and carved a path for the rest of your family to follow. You proved to yourself that you could take on anything life throws at me, and that includes this pandemic. It took years of so much struggle to bring you to this point, and I know it was never easy getting here. You faced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. As you sit at school you slowly say goodbye to your friends that you may never see again. You missed those last couple of weeks to have memories that would last forever. You never got to say goodbye to those teachers who have helped you grow. While all of this is awful there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Things will get better, things will progress. Remember the good times you’ve had, remember the bad times, and remember how everything you’ve ever gone through has brought you to this exact moment.
Where do you go from here, where has life taken you. There are so many concerns, thoughts, and questions about the future racing through your mind. What do you like, who your friends are, what your career goals are, what is your career, how to pay off student debt, and where you’re living. All of these questions are so intriguing to think about yet scary at the same time. You think about where to go from here, and how you move forward when the world has slowed down.
