Let The Commencement Commence

So, I don’t know if I mentioned this but I’m a bit of a late bloomer. I went through puberty later than all my peers, I’m always late to social media trends, and I only graduated college a couple years ago at the ripe old age of twenty-seven. Yes, for those keeping track, that was only a couple months before that disastrous road trip and of course meeting all of you. I graduated from high school and was so excited to start college. I was actually looking forward to it from the moment I stepped into high school. I absolutely was terrified of high school and all the cliques and bullying that I had seen on practically any Disney Channel movie. Anyway, I persisted and made it through to college. William Paterson University wasn’t my first or even second choice, but it was close to home and a heck of a lot cheaper than the other options. My freshman year in 2013 was great. I saw my first comedy show (which gave me delusions of being a comedian myself), I joined the intramural flag football team (Benchwarmer/Water cooler position), and I switched majors from computer science to philosophy. Sure, I flunked a few classes that year, but I was ready for a major rebound sophomore year. Maybe even join one of the many clubs on campus. Well financial troubles hit, and I had to take a pause. I certainly didn’t anticipate it would be as long as it was. One year turned into three easily. I will say those few years away helped in changing perspective and gaining new interests. Going into my freshman year I was watching Buzzfeed videos and worried about male pattern baldness. Returning in 2018 I was still very much worried about baldness, but I had developed an interest in history as well as Korean culture and language. I had even written some jokes during my time away. Okay maybe joke is a generous term but still. Being in class with people three or four years younger than you is a surreal feeling. I often asked myself “is that what I was like??”. Three or Four years felt like an eternity at that point. I was sitting with kids who’d graduate at twenty and have ample time to figure it out after college. I wouldn’t have that luxury and it wasn’t made any easier by the fact a lot of my peers were graduating and getting started in their careers while I was still hitting the books and working a part-time job. During this time, I remember going to a bubble tea shop that I frequented often at the time and chatting with the owner when he said something that still sticks with me: “You can only compare yourself to what you were. You’re only running a race against yourself.”  So fast forward to graduation day and honestly it was just another day for me. I really had no strong excited feelings. I was more or less so happy to get it over with and move on with my life. I was more excited about the possibilities ahead of me than the actual ceremony itself. I learned quite a bit about myself leading up to that point. I mean I would’ve never done a story slam at twenty-one years old let alone thought about standing in front of a bunch of twelve-year-olds on a daily basis (which is arguably much tougher).