I’ve watched my older friends don the traditional regalia, diploma in hand, smiling as they pose for photographs capturing the day they worked for after 3, 4, 5, or more years. I never imagined my own 5-year college experience would end so quickly. My friends, gorgeous and handsome in those photos capturing their momentous accomplishment and their own transitions also over time showed me how post-grad, although rightly celebrated, is not always what it seems. What happens after the robe and cords come off, and Monday rolls around? What about when there is no class to attend, no online Zoom to log onto, and you’ve moved away from friends and environments that have been familiar for so many years? The “normal” becomes completely new and many are forced into feeling a little lost. Change is inevitable, but as I am now about to dawn those robes myself and take those photos, I understand that the hard part about post-grad isn’t really the change at all, more so, the waiting game. 

No one tells you what post-grad life is like. And, of course, no one tells you what post-grad life is like during a pandemic. Of course, I had to recognize the scale of what was going on in the country, and the world, and accept the fact that this move to online learning was the safest thing to do. But, as a 22-year-old, with only a few more weeks of college, THIS was the worst thing that could’ve happened.