Dear Graduate,

You’ve got your new dress on under your plain colored gown. Your medals, cords and other honors are hanging proudly around your neck as you snap photos with your roommates, your band friends, your class buddy and your boyfriend. The morning before your ceremony is fading away quickly and  you start to think to yourself: ‘four years flew by, how am I possibly here?’. But before you can answer yourself, you get the notice to wait in line to begin the processional into the field and you just pray quietly that you’re not the one who trips.

Music is playing, your mom is probably crying (you’re tearing up too but don’t tell anyone). You find your seat and again just pray you don’t miss it as you sit down – that stupid but hugely symbolic tassel smacking you in the side of the head as the wind gently blows and you try to stay focused on the president welcoming you to such a special occasion.

It’s here. The day you’ve waited the last four years, if not the last 16 years, of your life for. All those coffee fueled study breaks, hundreds of tests and sleepless nights, the internships, the group projects you probably could have done without, the stress eating, the long walks with your college friends, the days in the quad and feeling like you could do anything–the moment they’ve all led up to is here. And you couldn’t be more excited, right? (Terrified might be a better word, but stay positive here!). You listen to the keynote speaker, although if we’re being honest, I know it’s going in one ear and out the other. And that’s okay. You’ve worked so hard to get to this point-there’s just one speech left before the big moment and it’s easy to be distracted.

Before you know it, you’re in line to walk across that stage. Your name is called – your family is screaming and definitely crying. You cross the stage, shake hands with old men you’ve only seen in pictures and head back to your seat, the grin on your face as big as a planet! You wait patiently until everyone has crossed the stage in turn and finally, that damn tassel can be moved from one side of your face to the other. YOU ARE OFFICIALLY A COLLEGE GRADUATE! The crowd goes WILD!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!!!! The big moment has come and gone and now as you head to find somewhere to eat, the reality of what’s occurred begins to sink in. You’re DONE. With school. For now (or forever?). College graduation is such a huge milestone but I want you to know that is not the end, even if it feels like it. Today you’re saying goodbye to so many things that have made the last four years possible: your friends, the security of classes and tests and papers, the last little bit of time you can evade adult responsibilities (like bills), the fun trips, the new families you’ve formed. But I promise you: This is not the end. It’s a beginning. Quite possibly the most beautiful one you get in life. The day you leave your college campus is hard but there are so many wonderful things out there in the world that deserve your attention, your focus, your dedication and your time. You will find where you belong, no matter how untrue that feels right now. Take this chance to breathe in the new air and look for how you can make a difference in the world (and how the world can change you).

The moment you enter the world of adulthood, you are being asked to live a life of significance. Not necessarily of success or fame, but of significance, of importance, of meaning. A life that impacts the world around it – which may be one person or many – and I implore you to not only help the world but to learn it, see it and become a vital part of it. That is what life is about, graduate. Life is about becoming who you were always meant to be and making your mark on the world. Those four years of college + knowledge have given you the tools to be who you are meant to be. Now, tomorrow, and forever. Don’t be afraid of the journey that lies ahead. You have everything you need inside of you, as Dr. Seuss famously said: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”. Find a direction and go. The beautiful thing is – there are always more directions if that one wasn’t perfect and you will find your way, always believe in that truth.

I am so sure that you will grow as a person after today – more than you ever thought possible. I know you will change your corner of the world. I know you will lift someone up and be the good that this world so desperately needs. I know you will life a life of significance. But for now, enjoy today and this hard-earned celebration, for the rest of your life lies ahead of you, laid out for you to find your way. Congratulations, graduate. The world is so incredibly proud of you and waiting for you.

XOXO,

Kristina 

P.S. Never forget to “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” [John Wesley]