Keith Reed
Graduating is difficult. I happen to graduate next year, but it looms. The concept of graduating is very staunch in its assumptions. It means leaving everything you know and starting fresh somewhere else. I believe that it is not a good way of thinking and it could potentially follow later. Endings are things that we constantly dread but they also can be very liberating. These are things that we always run into, endings.
Graduating, for me especially, has engendered hatred from me. It marks a milestone and a loss of all the friends you used to know. After every graduation, I beelined to the car, saying less and giving minimal hugs. This feeling has now subsided within me because I have grown at an amazing pace. Paying bills, having consistent meltdowns and recovering from them, and apartment hunting, have all been things that I had to overcome and grow from this year. These milestones and achievements are direly needed to show us that there is more to our lives than frivolous Facebook and Internet nonsense.
RELATED: #ExplainIowa
This is a momentous time for us all. Huge milestones/realizations in life are what validate all of the hard work that has been put in. Finding happiness in these situations is vital to making sure you can continue on this journey and make right decisions. It is easy to wallow in sadness, and it is definitely hard to make yourself happy in these times. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, and I truly believe in this cliché.
I cannot speak for others about their pursuit of happiness, but my process hopefully inspires all. As the end of the year is coming to a close, I fell into sadness because it marks the end of an era. Many of my friends are graduating, and I cannot see going another year without their guidance and strength. The many people in my small classes have left a lasting impact on me. I am not afraid to admit that a tear or two fell upon my cheeks. Many who know me personally, understand that emotions are something that evades me frequently. What I did next cemented my happiness for what is to come next.
Cake had been on my mind for weeks now. In the moments, after those tears subsided, I jumped and went to buy that cake I so loosely wanted. As I was driving to get the cake, happiness filled me as this dream became a reality. The cake decorator was the most amazing person at that moment. She granted all of my design requests and that filled me with so much glee.
Safe to say that the cake was not eaten much. The cake was not for eating; it stood as a token of peace and happiness. To this day it sits in my fridge, gladly showing me a message similar to keep it up. The whimsicality of the cake and the message took on a new meaning, and I can still appreciate it. I guess I have my cake, and maybe I won’t eat it, too.
Happiness is not found in other people; it can be found in doing the things that you have denied yourself; granted price is also something that should be considered. That phone you always wanted, that guilty pleasure, that thing that you have been wanting to try, go ahead and, in the words of Tom and Donna on “Parks and Recreation,” treat yoself.