Graduation, etc.

I guess a post about graduation is, by this point, long over due. Over a month ago, I graduated from Oberlin College with Honors in Latin. The whole day- and the week leading up to it- were nothing if not surreal and almost fake. All of Senior Week, all I could think of was, "This might be the last time I eat at Black River, This might be the last time I walk to the gym," etc, etc. I felt like everything we did during Senior Week was incredibly forced- we all felt like we had to have the most fun and have the most outrageous time that week, and I ended up having very little fun. I can hardly party hard one night a week, let alone 7. And in addition to all this forced-fun, little arguments got blown out of proportion, everyone seemed to be mad at everyone else, and my housemates and I finally concluded that the administration keeps all the Seniors an extra week to make us all hate each other so we can't wait to leave. All this was a bit depressing, since I had started to become resentful toward the place that had been my home for the past four years. However, somehow I managed to get through it all- parents, my housemates families, packing- and finally graduate. It was a beautiful day, the speakers were all very good, even if the commencement speech was a bit of a downer. And that was it. I wish I could say that I felt some immense difference after I was handed my diploma, but in all honesty, I was just glad it was over, and was preparing to deal with the incredibly stressful aftermath. Swarms of family and friends descended upon us; I can't remember being more overwhelmed by people. But the ceremony was over; it was time to get ready to go home.

As I packed up my car after lunch, I kept waiting. Waiting to feel different, waiting to realize that I was never coming back, waiting to burst into tears. But it never happened. I teared up a bit when I said goodbye to some friends, but I would be seeing most of them again, whether over the summer or once I moved to Boston. As I said goodbye to my housemates, I knew I would see them all again, so again, it did not seem like a sad moment in which an era ends. I simply got in the car and drove away, as if it was the end to any other school year. I did cry a bit on the way home, but not much, and I have to say, I have yet to feel extremely sad. I am excited and ready to enter the "real world," and though I will miss Oberlin, I have to admit that I was ready to leave.

Perhaps I'll feel differently in the fall, when I am in Boston instead, but that remains to be seen.