I remember my high school graduation: the last seven awkward hours spent in the place I had come to loath over four miserable years. My ninth period teacher tried to hold an “intimate” moment for the seniors, but it wasn’t anything special — friends complimented friends, yet kept their distance from others. The bell rang and I went off with several buddies to Taco Bell. So much for sentiment.

But, like most, I am happy to say my time at the University has been much better than my time in high school, probably because it has shaped me into a different person. I am not the same self-absorbed imp from before, and I have come to value my education. After years of B-’s and attendance rates that put Ferris Bueller to shame, that means something personal to me.

And as adult life (careers, taxes, pretending to vote) approaches, college graduation certainly means something even if some students continue to shrug it off like we all did in high school. I paid more attention to Chicago’s Music Box Theatre’s weekend schedule than AP courses or the ACT, and I am paying for it now. No one wants to sound like Dad – or worse, Granddad – but our time at college will likely dictate where our lives go from here. If my rite of passage from high school wasn’t quite earned or what I had hoped, I know I can work hard over the next three years to hopefully pave myself a finer path for what lies ahead.

Maybe this is just the naïve freshman in me talking — God forbid that I’m the one trying to give graduation advice, telling myself I am figuring it all out. Please. I spend more time on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ website than any other. I’ve talked to career counselors in the last month at greater lengths than with my mom. One day, I think I could be happy as a physician. The next, a systems analyst. What’s my major again?

But if I am more than a bit unsettled and indecisive with where my path should lead, I am happy that the University offers so many options to explore. Graduating from college is so much more than just another life transition. Here, we develop our passions and earn our experiences to claim our stamp on the future. A degree might only be the first step in a new stage, but it will prepare us for new expectations and goals to set for ourselves.

And after a disappointing Dorito Taco, I’m ready to step up.

Adlai is a freshman in Media. He can be reached at [email protected].