Biography: Graduation Postponed

"Graduation Ceremonies. The ceremonies are postponed....." This was what I read in an email from the OU Interim President, Joseph Harroz, and a tiny tear slowly went down the side of my face. I was not going to have a graduation. Sadness filled my heart as I prayed, yelled for my parents to tell them the news, phone called my big sister, and started texting my friends. It was ironic because one of my Portfolio stories talked about graduation. It mimicked how I felt towards graduation as it said, "The constant long nights of studying, the thirty-plus pages of lab reports, and the anxiety-filled time during test preparation always seemed worth it, as long as they were able to enter the Maturing Forest for their own graduation." I felt that as long as I got to cross that stage, all my hard work would feel validated. However, my reality was that I was not actually going to have a physical graduation.

It sucked. 

There was really no other way to describe the situation. I found it very important to acknowledge how I felt about the entire situation. However, this was different than dwelling in the feeling. I had to acknowledge that I was sad and the situation sucked, because my feeling are valid. However, I did not dwell in it too long or else I could find myself in a bad place.

More so, there were definitely bigger concerns around the world that I began to be thankful for what I did have. I also began to look at my situation with a new perspective. I am stuck at home with my parents for a couple of weeks. I used to say, "I peaked in high school." While since I have said this, I have found college to be another great peak, I realized this was a time for me to live my life in a way like I was in high school. I realized what I enjoyed about high school and they were: (1) Spending time with my family; (2) Playing the piano; (3) Dancing ballet. Therefore, I thought it would be great time in my life to implement these three activities in order to feel like I have "peaked" again. 

Overall, graduation was postponed. As a senior, this was hard to hear. However, in a time where we cannot control much in this world pandemic, we can control our attitude. 

Oh, how I miss campus! 

(The above image is of the building I spent most of my senior year at.)

Author's Note:

In my biography story, I wanted to describe an event in my life when I expected things to go one way, but instead they went in a very different way as I expected. I wrote it in past tense because I wanted to show reflection on the situation as I have learned valuable lessons. I wrote it in first person because I wanted to acknowledge my feelings through the process. I wrote this story because I found that there were many lessons to it and it is a good reminder for my readers, including me in the future, that we can only focus on what we can control, and that is our attitude on any situation - even situations where unexpected events happen.