The Dreaded G-Word
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a college senior days away from graduation must be in want of constant graduation reminders.
The last semester of college is a rollercoaster of emotions. Not only do you have to battle senioritis (it’s the worst), you also have to incessantly answer the question: what are you doing after graduation? If that’s not enough, you also find yourself in the Vandy bubble with other seniors who have their own unique approaches to the end of their college lives. There are seniors who have had job offers since August and talk about their upcoming plans nineteen to the dozen, and then there are seniors who go completely off the radar as they navigate job/grad school interviews.
If you didn’t already know that you’re graduating, you’re constantly reminded that you’re graduating very soon. For example, Vanderbilt has a Senior Class Fund to which seniors make donations to different campus organizations. It’s a very noble cause because not only are you giving back to your favorite student organizations and helping them continue to make an impact on campus, but you’re also unlocking donations of $50,000-$100,000 from Vanderbilt alumnus Alex Taylor if enough seniors donate. You simply cannot escape the Senior Class Fund, who’s there at every major campus event to encourage seniors to donate in exchange for Chick-fil-A and T-shirts.
If you think Hillary Clinton is the only person plagued by emails, you haven’t met a college senior. As seniors, we get hundreds of emails about Commencement and making sure all is set before graduation, often in bright colors and all caps!
There’s a super useful website dedicated to Commencement, which has all the information you need to plan for the big day, but it has an ominous countdown plastered on its front page — you can’t avoid it! What’s even more sadistic is that it counts down to seconds.
The next set of graduation reminders comes from your family: What’s the best hotel to stay at? Have you confirmed the graduation dinner reservation yet? To be fair, having many members of your family come to Nashville for Commencement is very exciting, but it takes months and months of planning. Most seniors, including me, booked hotel rooms a year in advance. You also need to make sure you book restaurants in time because Commencement brings so many people to Nashville, and I’m not even accounting for regular tourists.
In a way, I’m happy to be reminded of exactly how many seconds are left until I graduate because I’m more motivated than ever to check items off of my Nashville bucket list. I was so ashamed of myself when I saw Karlie Kloss doing more things in Nashville in a day than I’ve all done all year! But I’m on track because I recently got Bluebird Cafe’s notoriously hard-to-get tickets — you have to be ready with your computer at 8 am — and experienced the quintessential Nashville country music scene with my friends. I also have the Ryman and Pancake Pantry lined up for later!
I don’t think I’ll be able to blog during Commencement, but if you’re curious about the schedule of events, check this out. Although I detest being reminded that I’ll graduate soon because Vanderbilt is truly my second home, I am looking forward to Commencement: hearing Amal Clooney speak, acting as a Nashville tour guide for my family, and having a celebratory dinner at one of Nashville’s hottest restaurants, Chauhan Ale & Masala House!