I walked through the front door, laid down the bouquet of flowers, the square hat, and sat down slowly, absorbing the fact that I am now formally recognized as - a graduate. The thought that college was over sank in. This particular chapter will never recur. Not with the same group of people; the same set of circumstances; the same time; the same place. Plus, I'll never turn 21 again.
The shift to full fledged independence and adulthood is now in full swing. Not that it wasn't in college, but there were going to be fewer roads heading in any other direction. Would there still be late hang outs, ones where you basked in the full knowledge of being in the midst of a 3 month holiday? Will your buddies still be around? If they aren't, will you be able to start from the ground level again to foster similarly deep, lasting friendships in a working world that demands austere professionalism? I'm not sure if an environment for unassuming friendship exists in this new world. Maybe we all start developing rigid commitments to family, children, and drift further and further away from any individual not blood related... until it concludes to a short greeting in church on Sundays, a nudge to your child followed by a brief sentence that carries something along the lines of 'Son, that gentlemen over there... back in the day we did this and that'. Would we still go on excursions together? Or was it just a sole survival game for the next 30 years with your spouse?
In many ways it felt like a break up. A detachment from a moment in time rich with both good and bad memories. And there were deep passions that came with every college/student life. Leave this life, leave them. The least I could do is remember them. So, I'll write a chapter for each part as a tribute.
Chapter 1: The Family
Chapter 2: Debate Declassified
Chapter 3: That Girl
It's gonna be a brave new world.
