The office has been…unusually relaxing this week. There has been fewer emails, phone calls, voicemails, and texts. It feels as if everyone’s work productivity is on pause and it’s due to something everyone can relate to. It’s graduation week and it’s happening at every educational level.
It’s a time for celebration and the overall vibe is positive. I’m definitely feeling it. The sensation is nostalgic with layers of memories from 8th grade promotion, high school graduation, nursing school pinning, to college graduation. It’s a surreal moment for many lives and it’s where we disperse into our separate paths.
It’s a time for heartfelt goodbyes, see you laters, and happy trails. This is a time in our lives where we don’t know if paths will cross again. I for one, don’t see anyone from my high school days. I barely see people from nursing school. My college classmates are a blur. At the same time, I am also looking for a new path–and new paths usually come with new people.
I have a word of advice for graduates leaving school for the workforce. Continue any hobbies or activities that keep you surrounded by people in your age group. This is a vital lesson about nurturing a community of people that will become a big part of your life. Not to mention, it may be the only place you’d be able to find a lifelong partner. In hindsight, I realized how much I took for granted about what the educational system had to offer. Aside from education, I say it’s really about the people and their contagious excitement about life. We spend the rest of our lives looking for this again. Congrats Class of 2022. Thank you for surviving COVID.