I always thought graduation would this prefect moment just like what I saw on TV and in movies but it wasn’t. It was an itchy robe and a cap that didn’t fit quite right, unless it was pinned to my head in a very specific way, which made it almost too uncomfortable to wear. It was shoes that made my feet ache and a dress that, admitted, showed a little too much skin. It was listening to speeches from people I both loved and envied. It was regret that I’d not done more and I’d held myself back from everything I could have been. It was disappointment that I hadn’t talked to people because I thought that they were “out of my league”. It was self- hate for not trying out for the soccer team freshman year even though I really, really wanted to. It was anger for not always bringing home the grades my parents expected of me. It was grief over the childhood I was leaving behind and the people I knew I’d never see again. It was a heart breaking sadness over the friends I would miss so dearly after they left for college in the fall. It was excitement over the new experiences I get would have. It was fear of what waited for me outside the safety of my high schools’ cold brick walls.  It was not perfect. It was tears, and love, and joy, and hate, and envy all roll into two brief hours. And when it was over I realized that it may not have been exactly how I envisioned it, but it was mine and I loved it all the same. I’m ready for the rest of my life and all it will throw at me, because even though it’s not perfect, it’s mine and I wouldn’t have it any other way.