Congratulations Stacey! My sister graduated from Loyola College this weekend in Baltimore, after a very long winded ceremony. Even the guy idolizing Lincoln's brevity took 45 minutes. In pointing out what the future held the Valedictorian also pointed out "parents beware some of us will be moving back home". As if this was a shout out to my sister, who has yet to begin her job search. My dad didn't find this nearly as funny.
I think my sister will soon realize what most of us do, that college does not exist as a place, but as an experience, that exists in time and place. After our time there expires, all that is left is the nostalgia of our great experiences. The universities intern rely on this belief that our spirit lives on in the institution after we leave to generate alumni donations. It was only several years ago that I myself was not quite ready to leave college. Since then I've seen many of the people I went to school with move away to find jobs, or pursue other degrees. Only several yeas later this month, there is only one person left at Northeastern that I knew when I went there, and next year he will have graduated as well. If I walk back on to campus today I am doing so as a stranger, or a tourist. There will be no party invitations, classes, or the frequent hello as I pass by friends walking to and from class, just a book store with Northeastern branded merchandise to remind me of the good old days.
One of my best friends from high school, who for the longest time never accepted it was over, eventually realized this same phenomenon. He went back once and a while to say hello to his old teachers, or people he knew who worked there. Each time the freshmen looked younger, and the seniors not quite as big as he remembered them. Until eventually one day he was stopped by a hall monitor who informed him that all visitors needed to register at the front office. this wasn't easy for him to accept, since he had spend a very significant 4 years of his life and about 25k of his parents money there, and felt betrayed when he no longer felt welcome.
The truth is I have hardly set foot on Northeastern campus, a place I will always hold special, even though I live down the street. It is hard to accept that our disappearing youth, and the influx of responsibility replacing our bliss. I don't see why they have a graduating class member try to give a speech about what lies ahead, when their really just as clueless as their class mates. A recent graduate could certainly offer more relevant and meaningful advice, but it's the valedictorians wide eyed untainted enthusiasm that instills hope, reinforces the ideology that those before them are ready to change the world, and encourages the bravery needed to face the world head on.
Good Luck Stacey
