And almost summer means almost graduation.
Which luckily, I (barely) survived two years ago. I thought I'd impart some knowledge on the two types of college seniors that definitely exist at every college. These two types seem to divide aggressively around graduation time.
Usually when it comes to college graduation, people fall into one of two categories. There are those people who are totally D-O-N-E with college and cannot wait to jet set off into the real world. They're ready to start their adult lives, get real jobs, move out, get an apartment and a cat, and settle down to work and roll in the cash until they retire. In my opinion, these people are freaks of nature.
So clearly I was not one of these people. When one of my college friends looked at me in all seriousness a month or so before graduation and said to me, "I can't wait to get out of here and start my life" I probably recoiled from her as though she had some incredibly infectious flesh-eating disease.
I looked around, spread my arms wide, and wanted to scream, "BUT HOW IS THIS NOT THE PERFECT LIFE???"
Freedom from your parents 24/7. Any food you could possibly want within walking distance. A gym that you don't have to pack a bag and drive to. All your friends either living with you, or down the road.
What could get better? What could possibly get better?
(In all honesty, I do not know the answer to this question. I graduated two years ago and still, nothing is better).
So you have those people who are just bizarre and maybe don't care about all those wonderful things. They'd rather have their cat, their personal space, their privacy, and their sober Thursday nights.
Then there are people like me. People who lived in denial about graduation until a week after they had moved home for the summer for good. People who could barely take graduation pictures with friends and family because their eyes were so red and puffy. People who wanted to cling to the laughter and freedom and debauchery of college with their bare hands, holding on for dear life. People who openly sobbed through their entire graduation ceremony. People who did not clean out their dorm room (at all) until hours after they were handed their diploma, then somehow managed to live in their college town for two weeks after graduation because they just could not handle the thought of getting kicked out and tossed to the trash, like WHAT WE HAD WASN'T REAL. LIKE WHAT WE HAD DIDN'T MATTER.
There is definitely a beauty in goodbyes and a sadness to holding onto things that aren't meant for you anymore. Logical Danielle knew this. Desperately Sad Graduating Danielle did not accept this.
Here's what I'm here to tell you, as a survivor of this strange and horrible and wonderful accomplishment called graduating college: You will be okay, and it's fine to feel however you're feeling.
If you're in denial, depressed, anxious, or angry, it will pass.
If you're elated, exuberant, joyful or just plain done (and people are judging you/don't want to hang out with you/won't touch you with a 10 foot pole), it will pass.
If you're elated, exuberant, joyful or just plain done (and people are judging you/don't want to hang out with you/won't touch you with a 10 foot pole), it will pass.
You will adjust and you'll find a new normal, new places, new friends, and new opportunities. No matter how long it takes, believe the bad will pass and the good will come. There is a beauty in moving on. And if you aren't a college senior yet, you better live it up every second of every day, because you don't know how good you got it 'til it's gone.
*(If you are truly having a mentally difficult time with graduation, it's perfectly okay and normal to reach out to your school's counseling program. Even if it's just for the weeks leading up to graduation and you need someone professional to vent to and help sort out your wild and emotional thoughts. Trust me, I have been there, done that.)
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