Ah, yes, graduation, the most exciting time of the year, where campus is once again buzzing with life. Relatives and friends revel in the cheap cost of visiting the city and delight in the ability to force you to be proud of yourself. But this year, yours truly is slated to walk across that stage, so everything is stressful and bad actually.
As hordes of people descend for a week into good old Old Aberdeen, here I am confronting the reality of wearing heels on cobblestone (and something about a four year degree?). And don’t get me started on wearing robes in July! Your gal is not built for double layers in the summer, that’s why she moved to Northeast Scotland to begin with.
But I am ultimately excited for the ceremony, because I like attention, and what’s more attention grabbing than a crazy get-up and mandatory celebratory pictures where I look great? No, the real daunting reality is after graduation, wherein you and I enter the Real Adult World.
I am really looking forward to this shift into more priorities and less free time (I say with no gun to my head, I promise). In fact, who wouldn’t want to get up for work 5 days a week instead of class 3 days a week? You’d be crazy to not want what you do on the day to day to actually affect people instead of just yourself. In fact, I can’t believe that I haven’t done this sooner! We might just have to switch to the English system and cut these degrees down to 3 years at this rate, because I am chomping at the bit to become a real adult.
Oh and that’s if you get a job! I’m looking forward to graduating into this recession because it will give me an opportunity to display tenacity in the face of hardship, and demonstrate my ability to push through difficult times. Plus, I won’t have time to confront the reality that me and my friends won’t live within walking distance of each other and don’t have the money for a night out if I’m constantly filling out job applications.
Ultimately, the best parts of being an adult will pull me through though. I can look forward to losing my Young Scot card, and having the opportunity to be mindful and present in my home (because I can’t afford to leave it). Indeed, being seen as an equal by people that have had decades more experience in this world will be a privilege, not the scariest sh*t ever. And I can look towards bigger goals, like a long-term career, or starting a family! Can you believe that people our age are doing these things?? Surely they only exist on social media…
Who would’ve thought I would be waxing poetic about uni? If you had talked to me during any exam season (or even just a 1000 word assignment, or a particularly taxing reading) I would’ve told you I couldn’t wait to leave. But I will admit, that was short sighted! Because the real adult world is infinitely more scary.
Luckily, I have a last ditch effort to stave off the real world! This is genius, and it will revolutionise my life! Yes, that’s right folks, I have decided to do a postgrad degree! Now I don’t have to worry about the real adult world ever…certainly not in one small year from now.
