Do you still remember that day when the crowd was all cheered up as you walked your way up to the stage after hearing your name from that long list of graduates? Fullfilling isn't it? How about when you were one of those who went up the stage to get a medal, an award or a sash? You must have felt that overwhelming pride thumbing over your chest too. You might have shed some tears of joy. In contrary, you might just puked due to some disappointments.
You might admit that your graduation ceremony could be one of the sweetest and remarkable days of your life. But others might feel that this wasn't worth remembering at all. Few might have felt that they just fought an unfinished battle.
I remember those days before my high school graduation when some of my classmates were all high just to get to the top of the honor roll. I was part of the star section so everyone there was really competitive that time. That inside-the-classroom competition has been a friendly battle though so we still maintained that healthy emotional bond as peers.
After the deliveration of the honor roll few days before our graduation day, most of us were happy with the result. However, I can also recall some hisses of silent protest due to other's little disappointments. But nevertheless, these people became receptive after a few days.
To be honest, I haven't even made it to the top ten. And the moment I heard the result, I never found myself questioning it. But when I arrived home, I just realized that this was really not a good news to my parents.
Upon arriving home, I tried to back track all the days before the graduation and started to evaluate all the things I have done from the last grading periods. So from that point, I started to feel uneasy and began questioning how they came up with the final grades and what were really the factors that teachers have considered to sieve the deserving 'winners'. But then, the answers to these questions appeared unsatisfying to me so I ended up blaming myself instead.
That unforgettable moments of my life specifically happened 11 years ago. The crazy thing is, I just couldn't really forget all the tidbits. In spite of that, I have moved on from that scenario and living a totally different life now--so different from those days 11 years back.
Things have changed a lot and I think my high school graduation has just played a very little effect to who I really am today. I have learned that graduating with all the flying colors cannot really assure one's future.
Well, this is very true. I can remember a classmate of mine during my first years at school who was not really that interested in studying (nor learning). He's one of these lazy students that you usually see playing and fooling around every noon breaks while everyone is busy with their assignments. He was not that bad, influencial kid though, but you can't really see him endulging into his books. But through it all, we graduated together that same year and I have not heard anything about him since then.
But due to the existence of today's social network, I saw that he is currently working at a big company where he is the top and the most valuable employee. It looks like he really earns a lot from his career on sales so he had already bought himself a nice house and a brand new car. I can also see how happy he is with his recent job as he travels around the world. Clearly, he must be earning more than what I am earning today or let's say he might be earning more than those who have topped the high school's honor roll.
So what is the moral of the story? Again, your status on your graduation day does not really assure your future. Whether you were with or without honors, this could rarely make a change.
So to all dear 2015 graduates, just relax. I am not saying that you now need to stop pushing yourself to be on the top. I am not saying too, that studying hard doesn't really pay off. But what I am saying is, if you expected to be on that high rank and was a little disappointed because you just failed to make it; don't be sad. It's not the end of everything yet actually. The truth is, there will surely be a lot of beautiful things that might come along your way. And if that happens, don't be too picky. Enjoy all these opportunities. And if 10 years later and you could still see yourself smiling straight from the heart, then that's what real success and happiness really means.
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