Dear Josh,
I have a thought I want to write about that has crossed my mind a couple of times. A few days ago, I graduated. L was sadly not going to be at graduation so I was fully prepared to head in, walk on stage, and head out as soon as possible. The day did not go as planned. I was there earlier than I was supposed to be because my parents helped me collect my graduation gown (because I was in London) and I needed to try it on earlier than others to make sure it was a good fit. Luckily, it was and no adjustments had to be made. Since we were almost an hour early, my parents and I had breakfast outside the hall and it was good. I got a matcha and a yummy breakfast burger that I did not finish. The day was already longer than I had intended it to be, but it was good.
The ceremony started at 1030am but graduates had to be seated at 10am. Because L was not there, I wasn’t too excited about entering the hall early; I was sure I only had one friend in the cohort and she wasn’t going to be there. Don’t worry, I’m not sad about it, I made no effort to make extra friends. To my surprise, a classmate, D, sat down two seats beside me and nodded a “hello” before he scooted to his seat. Five minutes later, another classmate, K, took his seat beside me and started talking to me. To be fair, these aren’t strangers. We had a brief conversation with D a few months ago and K has been known to us since our early uni days. Actually, K is a brother of a friend I had and he was also in the peer tutoring program with you. K also sent a very kind message when he heard of your passing. But I, evilly, never thought of K or D as friends.
Anyway, the ceremony started and contrary to what I thought would happen – me, sitting quietly, bored out of my mind for three hours – I ended up having a good time. K, D, and I talked the whole way. We actually almost missed getting called to get in line beside the stage because we were talking so much. I laughed a lot. I had a good time. But still, I thought that once the ceremony was over, I’d head straight home.
Again, I was wrong. I said goodbye to both D and K after the ceremony concluded and went looking for my parents at the reception. Shortly after I found my parents, I saw K standing on his own with a plate full of food. Seeing that he had no table to eat at, I asked him to join us. He ended up chatting with my parents and I met his sister (and later on, his brother – my old friend – and dad). After, my parents and I decided to take a family portrait. We did, and as I walked out of the makeshift studio, finally ready to bid this place goodbye, K, D, and a bunch of their friends (my classmates) waved me over. I walked over and right as I was about to say, “bye guys! I’m heading off!” D goes, “OMG you’re finally here, I’ve been waiting for you to take a picture. We were all waiting for you.” How could I not, right? So I took pictures with D and K, and ended up standing around with them for another thirty minutes.
The day turned out better than expected. I laughed. I took good pictures with friends I didn’t know I had and professors I didn’t think I’d see. I had good conversations with everyone I met. I had good moments with my parents. I’ve found that things are often like that. I don’t expect them to be good, and they end up being great.
I had a great time. Possibly a better time than the first graduation I had earlier this year. I do miss L though, and you of course. I didn’t get to talk about the thought I’ve been having. I think this post warrants a part two.
Can’t wait to see you again. I love you more, always, and forever.
Love always,
Sha
Leave a Reply