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(Not) Graduating

The other day a friend said something about graduation. "I don't think I'm going," I said. "It would be fun to see everybody, but I'm not graduating and I'll have already started my summer job." (Hahvahd does not deign to work with the schedules of peasants. Graduation is on Wednesday and Thursday. Although, to the school's credit, this will be changing in 2010.)

He told me about how he graduated from college mid-year too but marched with his class and was glad he did. I still wasn't convinced.

Then he asked if I would march next year instead. "I don't know," I said. "It would be weird walking with a different class. And then I'll have to take time off from my real job. I've already got a couple of degrees, I don't see the big deal about marching." (In fact, my last Hahvahd graduation was not a good experience. I was bitter because I had hated my program, even more bitter that it left me and JW broke, and it poured the entire time so we were all soaking wet by the end.)

But then he made me stop and think. "What about your parents?"

Ah, yes. The parents. I called them up tonight and asked, "Do you want to see me graduate?" And my mother, who practically cried when I told her I was applying to law school, who enlisted relatives to talk me out of it, who called me at work at random times to yell at me, said, "Of COURSE we want to see you graduate. We MUST see you graduate." "But it's on a weekday," I said, "and if it's this year I won't really be graduating, and [my sister-in-law]'s due date is right around then." "You tell us when to be there and we will be there," she said.

After we hung up I started becoming enthusiastic about the idea. I was thinking I'd go this year. I'd walk with my class, it wouldn't be a big deal taking a day or two off from my summer associate job, and besides, J.K. Rowling will be the commencement day speaker! So I won't actually graduate. It's about the experience, right?

Then my father called and said, "Wait, are they actually going to call you up on stage and hand you something? Because if everybody else is going to get the diploma and walk across the stage, and you're just going to sit there and they'll say, 'See you next year,' it's not worth it."

Hmm. I assumed it would be the same as everybody else, but it's worth checking. But then I started thinking, maybe I'm being silly and I should just march next year when I've actually graduated. It's not like I won't know ANYBODY, and that's not really the point, is it?

I think it makes sense to graduate when I've actually graduated. Right? I guess it shouldn't be such a big decision. The fact that I'm on the fence probably means it doesn't matter.

Full post as published by Magic Cookie on February 17, 2008 (boomark / email).