Today I went to the bookstore to purchase my cap & gown. My walk to the bookstore was slow and I was dragging my feet. I kept thinking about how exciting it was to get our cap & gowns in high school and how different that feeling had changed. Once I was inside the bookstore I was greeted by a table holding diploma frames, JMU Alumni t shirts, and other various graduation items.

I kept walking.

Once I was handed my cap, gown, and white tassel for a Bachelor of Arts, I turned around (dazed I might add) and made my way downstairs. But when I got downstairs I saw several other dazed looking seniors walking around with their cap and gown. Like we all couldn’t believe graduation is actually happening, it’s actually here. But after talking to my friend tonight a light bulb thought happened.

In high school, the reason everyone was so excited to graduate was because we knew what bigger and better things were to come (our respective colleges). We knew how the process worked and the timeline of how the events would unfold.

But now, most people don’t have any idea what is going to happen after graduation. Unless someone is going to grad school or already has a solid job lined up, no one really has any idea what is going on. That realization is weirdly comforting. It’s nice to know that I am not alone in my confusion or intimidation of the real world. I know some people are more excited to graduate than others because they do want to be done with school and away from JMU… but for the most part it seems most seniors aren’t ready to leave.

We have roughly a month left at this beautiful campus and I intend to try and take advantage of every day.