Graduation: A Bittersweet Time For Seniors

By: Angelina Berube
Posted In: Opinion

When I think about graduation, one word comes to mind, wow. It is unbelievable to think that four years ago I began my college career. Now, in my last few weeks at the school and in Newport, R.I., I find myself reflecting on all the great memories I will have for a lifetime.

This past weekend, all the senior English majors, including myself, felt one step closer to graduation as we presented our senior theses. Although it was a little nerve racking to get up and talk in front of a crowd, when it was all over, a huge weight lifted off each of our shoulders. We have been working on our theses for all of senior year. I can’t believe a year’s worth of work is just about finished. The last semester of senior year flies by as I imagine these last weeks of classes, finals and senior activities will also be over in no time. Next thing we know, we will be proceeding into the tent and walking across the stage to receive our diplomas.

For most seniors, commencement will be bittersweet. At one end, we are ready to move on, to hopefully get a job in our desired field. But at the same time, it’s hard leaving one’s comfort zone and leaving friends and teachers who have become such a part of one’s life. Look at it this way. Those relationships have shaped who we are. You won’t lose those relationships because they are now permanently a part of you.

For some, leaving the bubble of life on the island and being submerged into the real world is a scary thought. We have to accept the fact that we can’t live next door to mansions for the rest of our lives or be able to walk to the beach on any given day. Who really wants to live the same routined schedule day after day? Sure it’s great that everything is pretty much planned for us now at school. We wake up, go to class, go to work and do homework. When we graduate, there will be the excitement of the future and whatever it might hold.

At the same time, commencement will end another chapter of our lives while beginning a new one. Personally, I am excited and sad to leave Newport. I have had such a great experience at Salve and have met so many amazing people, but it is time to move on.

This past semester, it really sunk in that this is it. It’s hard to think you have to leave a place where you are so comfortable. Besides, who really wants to leave Newport? I mean, we are surrounded by mansions and the ocean. How much better can that get? I’m sure not everyone can say that they were in class and when they looked out of the window, saw the ocean.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me and where my life takes me. I’m ready to put all that I have learned in my major to the test.

Can you believe it’s been four years since we all moved into Miley, New Residence, Hunt and Reefe and lugged our suitcases up flights of stairs? What a great four years it has been.

Class of 2010, congratulations. Enjoy graduation and all the senior week festivities. I’ll see you on May 16, 2010 bright and early.

This is not the end. It is only the beginning.