hail, not-entirely-nourishing mother.

Yesterday I graduated, which is not to say I'm any wiser for the experience. Any sagacity I've managed to accrue these past four years has been the result of a series of tiny steps. College has been, well, graduated- any change happened slowly, not overnight. So for me, graduation is just a walk across a stage. No big change, no great realization.

I'm pretty sure my life after Maryland is going to be the same way. I have a BS in Computer Science, so I'll be heading to Northern Virginia midsummer to start working. I'll learn new software, new systems, and new coworkers, and I'll grow- slowly. I might have a few bills to rub together, too, which should prove interesting and possibly act as a catalyst for a bit more change. I don't think that sort of thing will go to my head, though, since I'm way too used to being broke in one way or another.

I'm still the same Kevin- I still want to write and think and have fun. Only now I'm a Kevin with a piece of paper that says I'm smart and know stuff. I guess after Maryland we'll see what it is I actually do know.

Kevin

Yesterday I Graduated from College

Yesterday I graduated from college.

I got a B.A. in Communication from the University of Maryland, with a minor in Spanish Languages & Cultures and a minor in Chinese Language. What now?

Graduating was kind of anticlimactic. I got a fake diploma that was a piece of nice paper with a turtle on it. Big whoop.

I thought the last night of college as we know it would be like "WHOAAAAAA WE'RE REAL PEOPLE!!!!" but instead it just involved waiting on the same dumb lines for overcrowded College Park bars, not getting in and resorting to my favorite place on campus, the fountain. No regrets. I love the fountain and I loved watching the drunk graduates who considered it a rite of passage to race in it and fall clumsily.

Three months from today I'm headed to Shanghai, China, where I'm going to teach English to small Chinese children and the thought of it just makes me smile. It's not that I'm sick of the U.S., it's just that this is a time in life to (okay, fine) put off growing up and having a 9-5 job in an office (sorry, Jenna, but you're making bank, no hard feelings). Not that I'm putting off growing up, either, it's just awesome that I have the chance to leave and I'm going to do it.

Do I feel any more like a "real person" than I did yesterday before getting my name called and shaking the hand of the head of the Department of Communication at UMD? Nope. I still look 18.

--Becca

Yesterday I Graduated...

Yesterday I graduated college. It was surprisingly surreal and today I can honestly say I feel no different. I am supposed to be a grown up now, right? Then why hasn't my binge drinking slowed, and why does the sound of the ice cream truck coming down my road right now still get me WAY too excited? Maybe it's too soon. Perhaps I need to wait until my career takes off to fully feel the effects. What career, you ask?

Well, after years of soul searching, I came to the realization that I have no soul. And thus, I am diving head first into the shallow pit that is the business world. Only sort of kidding.

I double majored in Finance and Operations Management. Starting August, I will be moving to Manhattan to join the ranks of the largest consulting company in the world as a technology analyst. You may be thinking, "Oh, wow, a technology analyst. I bet she knows a lot about technology." To that I answer, "While that is a logical assumption, I am actually technology illiterate. " Really, my family won't even let me touch the TiVo at home in case I break something and I frequently think my printer is broken when I have forgotten to plug it in. Frequently.

But I have been assured that is OK. In reality I am going to be doing strategic consulting in the technology realm. It might sound boring and vague, but it is my dream job, and I could not be more excited. Apparently my problem solving skills will keep me successfully afloat -- and my business degree can't hurt. Hopefully the job description will become more clear in the near future.

All I know is that soon I will be like that woman from Up in the Air, traveling all the time (though unmarried, thank goodness). But not too soon. First I get one last Hurrah in Europe, traveling for 6 weeks with my friend Kristen, who you will hopefully meet soon. I will try to keep you posted during our travels, depending on the abundance of internet cafes in various cities.

I don't know where I will live or who I will live with when I get back -- that much is uncertain. But stay tuned to find out.

--Jenna

The Day After Yesterday

Yesterday, I graduated from college. That makes today the beginning of my life in the real world. At a young age, we're told that the real world is a big scary place where everything is hard and people will walk all over you. Life is hard and nothing is free. Blah blah blah (not the Ke$ha song).

I never really understood why people send young adults to college, a place second only to home school in its degree of insulation from reality, to prepare for a life in the real world. Do undergraduates really come out with the skills to survive in today's dog-eat-dog world?

Don't know, don't care. I'm going to school for another five years. TFG.

My BS (aptly named) in biochemistry is sort of what you might call, I don't know, useless (?). So I'm going to Duke University to further my education. Higher learning, knowledge, enlightenment, and all the like.

Only two and a half hours until my graduation party so I have to keep it short. I hope you will join myself and several of my good friends and fellow Terps as we leave College Park to go on to bigger and better things. Throughout the summer, we'll reflect on the past and look to the future. And as we go our separate ways, you can envy or pity us, or observe with indifference.

Grinnan Kevin is going to be so critical of this hastily written post.

-Kyle