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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

All signs point to no

No, I do not want to graduate. No, I do not have a job for next year. No, I do not know where I'm living. Only 24 days away and there is no indication that I should even go through with this. I thought graduating from high school was rough.Now before my professors read this and decide to help the situation by bumping my grade down a few points, let me explain my reasoning. Last week, Saint Mary's class of 2004 got an e-mail from "Bookstore Bob" announcing that our graduation regalia had arrived and was ready for pick up. I put it off until Saturday afternoon when one of my roommates reasoned that maybe we should go and get it over with. We drove there in near silence aside from belting out a few measures with Keith Urban and drove back devising a plan to avoid sinking into the grass during the ceremony.Before hanging up my gown, I decided to see how it fit. It doesn't. Apparently Jostens fails to consider body size in proportion to height. So while my gown is made for someone between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-6, it is also made for someone anywhere between 100 and 200 pounds. I weigh in at the lower end, so now I'll have to deal with looking like Shamu. And the cap? Go figure - it's a little small.Okay, I guess that fails to constitute a major deterrent. I'll just crop the pictures. What will be difficult though is leaving my friends. There's a group of about 12 of us that are virtually inseparable. After coordinating everything from our living arrangements to weekend plans for the past four years, we'll be lucky if even two of us end up in the same state.I also have a lot of close friends who are underclassmen and will be leaving in 17 days. As much as I'll hold true to my promise of coming back, it won't be the same. Whenever friends visit after graduating, it feels like they've aged five years. Granted I can still look forward to having my ID double-and triple-checked at the bars...I'll admit there is one thing I am looking forward to. My friend and I agreed to be roommates in Chicago next year. Keep in mind we're looking at a place in either Lincoln Park or Wrigleyville and neither of us have jobs yet. It probably isn't the most rational idea, but I'm stubborn and she's determined so I think we'll do just fine.As much as I don't want to, I suppose I'd better gear up for the inevitable. I'll just have to make sure that the next three weeks are filled with as many memories as those that have come before - armed with waterproof mascara.

The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Contact Anneliese Woolford at wool8338@saintmarys.edu.