on Graduations

Something about my "Downtempo" playlist gets me all emotional and nostalgic every time. This time 'round, I'm reminiscing on the long lost days of high school, which I was also considering back in Singapore. I'm not just missing some of those old friendships (and wishing I had done a better job at maintaining them), but the lifestyle high school offered. Carefree certainty. You always knew what to expect, always knew what you would be doing a year from now.

Life was simple: do well, get the grades, next year you'll move up a number.

Come to think of it, university has been somewhat the same. You go through much the same motions, moving from year to year until BAM. You've graduated. And then what?

It's been odd, though. "Real life" hasn't hit me the way that I expected it would. Maybe it's because my degree is still pending, maybe it's because I only finished up on Tuesday... maybe the truck full of bricks needs some time to arrive.

But back to high school and that other graduation. I really screwed up there, and I've learned a lot since then. I coasted through my first year at UVic as if it were grade thirteen, but slowly started cutting off the ties to my high school friends. Upon moving to Kelowna and UBCO I cut nearly all connections to my hometown, and have been continually pruning my list of friends with each passing year. It's at the point where every time I go home to the Island I can visit pretty much every friend I still have, even when I'm only back for a few days. It's convenient for sure, but a little disheartening at the same time.

Maybe it's time to pull at some threads and see what unravels.

Photo by me