Just about a week ago we talked about everyone’s travel plans being put on hold. Things are in a huge state of flux at this moment in time. Many people were all set to graduate, and all of a sudden, things are in limbo, indefinitely. Often having to retract graduation announcements college and university administrative departments feel they have no choice but to postpone things. Honestly, this may be for the best, compared to having to do some sort of a half-baked ceremony instead of just waiting until things are better so they can do it properly.
My Heart Goes Out to Those who Wait
It’s very unfortunate for those among us who have had field work or research for a thesis etc. suspended because of current circumstances. Many people also work jobs where they are entitled to automatic pay raises, sometimes substantial ones, from continuing their education, and are now losing out because they don’t qualify yet. And it may seem petty to some but graduations are important milestones in peoples’ lives, and they deserved to be marked as the important occasions they are; it is an intrinsic part of our current culture!
Success Favors the Prepared Mind
In the end, sooner or later, this too shall pass, and we will all end up graduating, perhaps behind schedule, but we will get there! The important thing is to be prepared, both logistically and mentally. Mentally, we need to be prepared not only to wait this crisis out, but also to go back to normal when it’s over. It’s going to take a lot of gear-switching inside our minds for this to happen.
For those of us who have family friends or other loved ones graduating soon, it’s a good idea to be prepared, mentally and logistically. Plan things out ahead of time to avoid being caught in the crunch, and do everything possible beforehand to avoid having to do everything at once when things finally open up. This includes details like making up the graduation invitations templates before hand and having them ready to go at the right moment. It’s also a nice touch, while we are on the subject, to send out personalized thank you cards to those that are helping you graduate. You’d be surprised at how many people you probably should thank for one thing or another.
For Those who are Graduating
First of all, try to keep a positive mindset and be grateful as much as possible. It may be an unfair situation, but patience will pay off.
It’s also a great idea to really realize how important our education is to us, and how important it was to graduate in the first place. The silver lining to all of this is that we are all learning to appreciate things in our lives that we may have otherwise just taken for granted. We are all learning to value that which is actually highly important in our lives, and which will hopefully come back soon!