It’s very hard to not be so reflective during this time leading up to graduation. But all I seem to be able to think about these days is how I am so close to the end.
I know things will be different next year. I will no longer get to do the things I have grown accustomed to doing on a regular basis. It’s hard enough to spend time with my roommate now, but next year when I move off campus I will have an even more difficult time trying to see her. I will no longer get freestyle ice time at Walter Brown Arena. I will no longer get to have a dining hall at the bottom of my dorm. Maybe I’m worrying too much, and maybe I shouldn’t think about all these things, but the truth is, these changes are on my horizon whether I am ready for them or not.
When I see my friends, or random strangers I see on a daily basis around campus, I wonder if I will ever see them again. You see, I accept these changes, and I am not sad about them, but I can’t help but have these thoughts on my mind.
All this graduation talk is forced upon us. “Donate to the Class Gift!” and “Order your cap and gown!” or “Buy your Senior Week tickets now!” “You’re invited to this fancy posh ceremony with cheese and champagne for graduation (Partially funded by your Undergraduate Student Fee)!” I appreciate the energy, but I wish these people would just leave me alone. I just want to be able to live my life and not be pestered about something, even if it is something as special as graduation.
Maybe that’s why we get so sentimental at graduation time. Not because it is sad, but because we can’t remember a time before they started reminding us about graduation. As a result, we have completely forgotten what it’s like to not have to think about leaving Boston University.
When you arrive at BU you are geared towards graduation. You work towards getting that oversized piece of paper with your name on it. At matriculation they tell you, “Now and during your graduation are the only times that all of you will be together in one room.” You schedule your classes so that you can actually graduate on time. And now, even though it’s drawing near, I barely care.
I know that it will be exciting to graduate, and maybe I am holding back my excitement because I don’t want to face reality. But I wouldn’t give myself that much credit. I think my nonchalant attitude towards graduation can best be summed up in a Beatles lyric: “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on.” Yes, graduating is great, but I guess I’m the rare senior who doesn’t want to make a big deal out of all of this. Graduating from Boston University is a true honor, but I’m too worn out from this year of work to be fazed by any of it.
Maria Gellepes is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at mg887@bu.edu.
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