Unsolicited Advice for College Seniors

Remember that time I gave some unsolicited advice about living on-campus?  Well, as this academic year comes to a close, I’m back with some advice on wrapping things up. When my sisters graduated college back in the last century, 1999 to be exact, it was the first college graduation I had been to.  I have known people who have graduated every year since.  And in all my years talking to people who are graduating the best summary of how they might be feeling can be summed up by The Muppets.  Now before you give up and say Jason’s lost it, bear with me for a moment.

The best muppet movie of all time just happens to be The Muppets Take Manhattan. They’ve just graduated college (wink) and are off to the City to hit it big on Broadway.  Sadly, and without giving away too many spoilers, that dream doesn’t quite work out that way. They have to go in separate directions. Which leads us to the saddest song ever sung by this crew:

So I offer you, college senior with only a few weeks before graduation, three pieces of unsolicited advice. 

1. It’s time for saying goodbye– Don’t wait for the last minute.  Graduation day is crazy. You think you’re gonna be able to say goodbye to all your friends, but there are so many people and your family is there.  If you’re lucky you’ll be sitting next to someone you once took a class with.  Take these weeks to start saying goodbye to the people and places that have meant a lot to you over these past years.  Savor the moments you spend with friends, the dining hall you ate at, the residence hall you lived in your first year…etc.  The memories will be so thick, you’ll have to brush them away from your face. (Ohh hey Field of Dreams reference.)
2. Wanna smile, wanna cry– On one hand there is a lot of excitement about finishing college.  On the other hand you’re leaving a place that has felt like home for four years.  This mix of emotions might make you feel like Jessie Spano, except without the whole speed pills thing.  Allow the emotions to come, pray with them, and be thankful for them.
3. Finish Strong– Don’t forget The Muppets actually finished!  Don’t fall apart now.  Your motivation might be hovering around 5% and you might be playing KISS on repeat, but keep going to class and finish those papers.  Fun fact: professors will fail you if you don’t go to your finals and stop turning in work, just ask my roommate. 

Man, that got dark quickly.  So let me throw out one more piece of advice that the Muppets did not talk about.  Celebrate! Kool & The Gang is right! Graduating college is something to celebrate.  Maybe it was really fun.  Maybe it was really hard. Graduating from college is not something to take for granted and you did it!  So enjoy this last month and celebrate.