Graduates of 2020: Batch Pandemic

Walking up the stage with your graduation cap and neatly-ironed clothes to receive your diploma is the dream. Graduation day is a tribute to all the days we worked hard for—the days when we chose to study instead of sleeping when our callus-inflicted fingertips got weary from writing lectures when we chose to fight instead of giving up. These were the days when we spent long hours of classes, the days when we celebrated passing exams, and the days we chose to cry and laugh with our friends. From that moment onwards, Graduation day will serve as a closure to the intimate school memories we have created. However, in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, graduating students are robbed of this beautiful experience. No more marching to the stage, no more flashing lights from cameras, and click-clacking of stilettos and shoes shining in black. Goodbye to the glorious and momentous graduation dream and hello to online ceremonies. The Class of 2020 has experienced a different kind of graduation, one in front of a screen at the comfort of their own homes. However, that feeling of comfort also brought a sense of uneasiness with the fact that you were enclosed within walls; far away from the people you were graduating with. But, who would have thought that graduating could be this cozy? No long graduation queues, and no sore feet while waiting for your name to be called. Nicole, a senior high school graduate of 2020 expressed her disappointment with the given circumstance. She shared her regret for not being able to properly bid farewell to her friends, batchmates, teachers and mentors. She also revealed that it is sad how her valedictory speech would remain unspoken and would be kept in her notepad, forever. “Graduating with flying colors is a blessing, but inspiring others to do well in their studies is much more meaningful than accepting awards, " she said. An accountancy student who also completed her studies last year agrees that an actual graduation ceremony is “incomparable” but she emphasized having no regrets from anything that has happened. She noted that we should rather divert our attention to the blessings and factors that help us move forward despite the unprecedented circumstance. “I won’t change a single moment from any day, because true bliss comes from those that were unplanned. So yes, I was happy and I lived happily," she noted. The feeling of regret and contentment are both valid. People see this circumstance in their own eyes and it is natural to feel differently towards something. This predicament is a source of light and a gravity of darkness to a lot of people, and this includes Ray. He shared his mixed emotions saying that he was lost at some point, but he was able to regain himself through his source of strength which are his friends. The feeling was difficult for him to comprehend and even explain. It was like a contradicting feeling of both melancholy and fulfillment—grateful enough for being able to finish his studies while also being subtly desolated. He said, “…In a spectrum, I would say that I am [situated] in both different extremes of it. I feel blessed for graduating, but somehow [I also feel] discouraged with how it turned out…we all have expectations but not everything will go as we wished. Right now, what’s left for me is [to] hope that tomorrow is a bit better.” With everything that is going around, it is a challenge to keep anticipating the days to come with the same amount of enthusiasm. At some point, we will get tired of waiting. But, what does this say to us? We may have been standing from different spaces, and seeing the stage at different angles, but at the end of the day, we all have something in common—we are all standing with both feet on the ground; looking forward to our names being called on the stage to receive our diplomas. The same goes to how we view and interpret the current situation. Defining it is not what this is about. This is about how much we can relate and understand each other. This is about giving strength to each other that no matter how we feel, and no matter how sad or happy we are, we are all looking at the same sky; connecting the same constellations, and figuring how to get through this together. Batch Pandemic? What a cool way to describe it. Still, it represents students who are courageous enough to be facing this uncalled situation. Graduating in the time of a pandemic is certainly not what most of us expected, yet here we are, still pushing through somehow. Who cares about the glamour and formalities when you have a full-blast experience of graduation at your own space? The Class of 2020 was irreplaceable and nothing’s definitely wrong with that title on their diplomas. They will be remembered, and their stories will surely be one for the books.