In the fall of 2017, I was so over high school. It didn’t make any sense that our graduation was held six months after we’d left the school and any friends who I’d want to see, I was already seeing outside of a musty auditorium. So, I decided to just skip the ceremony and hang out in my pajamas at home. After all, I’d have other graduations, right? RIGHT?
Unfortunately, the universe looked at my smug decision-making and decided to humble me a little. I’m finishing up my degree at Zoom University, and the forecast is pretty poor for a graduation ceremony. I’ve spent four years of my life having mental breakdowns over assignments, embracing a constant state of sleep deprivation and writing an endless amount of discussion posts… but, hey, at least I’ll be able to toast my graduating class via a video conferencing platform. My pajama graduation outfit will be making a reappearance.
If I think about the chaos and labour that went into this degree, it feels like an extremely anti-climactic finale. A university degree is a big fricking deal. So, that’s why I need to take celebrations into my own hands, and why I think you should too. Although they might not be school-sanctioned milestones, I encourage all graduates to find ways to celebrate this achievement.
For example, I’m still planning on going on campus with friends in all our Laurier merch to take photos, because the ’gram deserves creative content that no one has ever seen before. I’m also going to book a weekend stay at a spa with my best friend and let the masseuse mold me into a brand-new woman. I plan to do a whole lot of nothing, and that is exactly what I need. It might not be backpacking through Europe, but it’s still going to be a weekend I won’t forget.
Another fun way of celebrating with friends is by hosting a PowerPoint night with a graduation theme. You could pick topics that include your favourite (and least favourite) professors, the best places you’ve cried on campus or a slideshow of your favourite snap memories of having mental breakdowns about school. If you’re anything like me, there is a lot of content to sort through.
The past year has forced us to be adaptive and creative in our day-to-day life, and this is just another opportunity for that. We have had a whole year of pandemic holidays, and although they might not be what we thought they would be, society has figured out how to celebrate safely. And in a few years, once everyone has been vaccinated, you can expect to see me frolicking through Europe celebrating my undergraduate degree.