Nostalgia: commencement

My job is nearing the end of 9 months of commencement planning.  It's been a very hectic and stressful few weeks of little sleep, lots of work, and even more running around.  It'll go well and be memorable, but right now we're in the crazy phase.

I've been speaking with graduates, and their emotions are all over the map.  Stressed.  Overwhelmed.  Mentally checked out.  Happy.  Relieved.  Joyous.  Blessed.  Accomplished.  Everything.  I've been checking into the hashtag we've set up to share commencement memories, and it's quite happy and moving to see the photos and memories students are sharing.

Eight years ago I was getting ready to commence with the rest of my life.  The whole week leading up to that Friday morning was filled with events for the graduates, from mimosa brunches, to harbor cruises.  Convocations I signed for.  Golf tournaments I avoided.  It was very fun and filled with memories and events.

The night before my commencement, my mom and aunt came out to be at my senior banquet.  I hung out with my roommates afterwards and we cleaned up our living room wall display of food boxes we had collected over the year, ceremoniously posing with our favorite boxes and taking the first box off last.  I remember we had to pay to get the wall repainted and spackled, but it was worth it.

Afterwards, I headed down the hall to hang out with our neighbors.  One friend was infamously trying to hook up with a girl who we later found out had never kissed a guy before, while another was scheming what to do an Admissions sign he had stolen earlier in the year and proudly displayed in his room all year.  It was determined that home plate of the baseball field was the best place to put this sign.  We all hung out and chatted long into the night, the last time we'd be able to do this for awhile since we had to be out of our dorms by 6pm the following day.

The following morning my roommates and I got dressed in our academic robes together.  I remember it felt very surreal and final, that this was the last time we'd be doing this.  We had spent many mornings getting ready for classes, our schedules different, but today we were all together.  One roommate's (thankfully) now ex-boyfriend stopped by at one point as well.  Another one went on a Dunks run with other friends (this was New England, after all).  Then we all headed down the hill to the track house to line up.

I knew a surprising amount of people in my area of lining up, but it was a small school, so this shouldn't be a surprise.  I barely remember the ceremony.  I do remember seeing my academic advisors as I got off the stage.  And then I met up with various family members for the reception and trying to fill all of our cars with my things.

And that's it.

Commencement, for me, is up there with key dates in my life, like my wedding, the first day of my first job, adopting my cat.  It's a surreal week for sure, and I tell all the students I see to soak it up and try to enjoy as much of it as possible.  It's a big day in their lives for sure.