Sascha Bos is the Graduate

Almost every year since first grade I've experienced the same feeling on the last day of school. After the pictures, goodbyes, and signings of yearbooks, there is that moment when all the excitement fizzes out and you're left lying on the couch, bored, lonely, and sad about the end of the school year. 

This year, however, I didn't have time for that familiar feeling to settle in. I didn't feel it on the last day of classes: I knew I would see everyone again the next day. Nor after graduation rehearsal, when I came home to decorations, presents, and a beautiful timeline of my school years created by my mom. At graduation, seated between my best friend and my boyfriend, I just felt happy and loved. After we threw our caps in the air (a rather confused event, as no one seemed to know when we were supposed to throw them) and the last of the 730-odd names had been called, we all took pictures and hugged family and friends while the sun set over the school. 

As I walked to the Park Avenue bungalows to pick up my diploma, I felt a sudden twinge. I'm never coming to this school again. I wanted to take pictures of all the buildings that I would never see again. But wait, I thought, I live five minutes away. I'm going to see this place all the time. I rushed happily back to my family and we walked home for the delicious dinner planned and cooked by my dad. We rushed to make the 11PM deadline for Grad Nite, and we arrived at the completely transformed gym with plenty of time to spare. 

Grad Nite itself was amazing: fun and games until 5 in the morning (certainly no time to feel sad about graduation). The parent volunteers did a wonderful job, and everyone seemed to be having fun. After putting all twenty of my raffle tickets in the bag for Hello Kitty Pajamas (no I did not win), I got my fortune told, danced, sang karaoke, got my face painted, and fell asleep while watching Napoleon Dynamite. I came home and told my mom all about it (my dad was asleep after volunteering in the sumo wrestling station until 3AM) and then we both went to sleep.

Three hours later we celebrated my brother's fourteenth birthday. The next day was my boyfriend's graduation party, and then after that Fathers Day. Wednesday was my parents' anniversary and tonight we're celebrating at the Greek Theatre. The truth is I haven't had much time to think about what it means to graduate. I still feel like I'm in transition: I don't belong at Wilson anymore, and I won't be a Berkeley student until two months from now. So what am I going to do with my life until then? Pick my classes, start my new summer job, and take advantage of all the fun Long Beach events this summer. Oh, and pack my whole life into the back of the station wagon! College, here I come!