The funny thing about school is how you count the days until graduation. The days until you become an adult and transition into a future where you fulfill the career you always dreamed of. There was an excitement on the night you earned your degree. While wearing a pretty pink cocktail dress, with a gown strapped over your shoulders, there was a rush of pride as your name was called through the microphone. You walked across the stage, smiling ear to ear, as you watched the crowd of family and friends watching you. In that moment, the world went quiet as your mind jumped to the “I did it.”
But what’s funnier is that now and then, you still walk through the entranceway of your old university halls. You can’t help but smile as you recognize the old, crumbling wall with the weird red stain that has never been cleaned. You climb up the stairway to the tall glass windows with the writing painted on them. As you make your way through the halls, you think back on the morning bus and metro drives. The way you’d wake up at six in the morning, while the morning sun was still asleep. You’d push through snow with your boots that squeaked when you entered the main entrance to the building. You remember coordinating with friends during your breaks between classes and walking to the little Korean market down the street for food. You think back on the many professors, some of whom would speak slowly while writing on whiteboards, while others would rush through PowerPoint slides, riddled with text and pictures. You think about how your favorite spot in the library was on the second floor, near the cracked window, where you got shushed for speaking too loudly instead of reading your notes. Most importantly, you think about the one friend you made in your first semester who always told you they couldn’t wait to watch you succeed.
So the funny thing after all is that in all the times you counted the days until graduation, you never considered the way you would miss all the small moments that seemed so insignificant in the heat of the moment. Still, you smile, knowing you had the chance to do it all.
Kids Help Phone (KHP) is honoured to share creative content submitted by youth from coast to coast to coast as they Feel Out Loud with us. We thank the Feel Out Loud Community Creator of this piece for their contribution to youth mental health and well-being in Canada. For more information on the Feel Out Loud Community Creator Space and / or how you can submit your own creative content for possible publication, you can visit the submission page.
