May is the month when graduates say good bye to the institutions that dictated their lives for a certain number of years. It is an exciting time, at least it should be. Because graduation means freedom, a new beginning, and skyhigh possibilities await.
However this rite of passage has not been usual in the recent past due to external circumstances. Campus protests on the Gaza war of late and the coronavirus pandemic in the prior years have been the disruptors to an otherwise celebratory moment.
In addition to the graduation, some even missed their orientation in the beginning. A double whammy and heartfelt unfortunate combination. But I’m not going to say sorry to the graduates. Not at all. Because sympathy is not what you need. Rather I encourage you to take the perspective that life is fluid, dynamic, and not always trending in your favor.
Then, what to do? You ask. Well, here is one if I may suggest: luck favors the prepared.
Your experience will shape your perspective, and, by extension, your future if you embrace it as opportunities. Yes, opportunities to make lemonade out of lemons, to work through adversities, to staying focused, to be self-initiated, and to graduate. These are your competitive advantages that others can’t have.
So, go forward and do great things! Best wishes to all the graduates.
Running with Buddha 