Dear graduating seniors (from a 2020 graduate)

It feels surreal to be typing this, because most days I feel like I haven’t even graduated. Yet, here I am writing advice to the class of 2021.

First and foremost, I sincerely want to congratulate everyone who made it through this past school year. I’m sure both Zoom University and socially distanced classes have been less than ideal. Maybe you have even come to miss Stevens (crazy, I know)!

Whether you got stuck at home, or in a lease you didn’t need, you probably felt frustrated, confused, and lonely many times this past year. Who could have known that days would turn into weeks, and weeks would turn into months, that we’d be separated from our “normal” lives for this long. I want to believe that we’re in the final inning, and that with vaccinations we’ll be able to reunite with friends and reclaim our summers — but who can really know?

Whether you have a job lined up, continuing your education, or taking life one step at a time, don’t let the world stop you from feeling accomplished. Graduating from college is a huge milestone! In comparison to the world and all its problems, you may feel like your life and this moment are so trivial. I know I did.

In those moments, remind yourself that the most precious person to yourself is you. You’ve endured a lot and worked your hardest to get here. Once you get your diploma, I hope you frame it on the same day, and celebrate with those who love you.

Being stationed in my childhood bedroom for the past year has me feeling like a high schooler all over again: lethargic, slightly rebellious, and lost in my own thoughts. But I definitely feel like an adult. Two direct deposits a month definitely make you feel like an adult.

This contrast of feeling like a child and like an adult, feeling successful and like I haven’t done anything at all, feeling lonely and happy alone, I’ve come to accept it all as normal. From the sample size of a total of five friends, I can confirm it is very normal for college graduates in a post-COVID world to feel like this. So, if you find yourself feeling like this soon, do not worry. Even if you have doubts, the truth is that you’ve come a lot farther than your past self could have ever imagined.

Your Stevens degree may or may not even be what you’re passionate about. But it is still an attestation to your intelligence, hard work, and resilience in pursing a goal.

If there’s something you want to do, someone you want to be, there’s no better time to try than now. If you don’t have a dream or goal at this second — it is completely okay to just exist. I know personally in the last year I’ve played over a thousand hours of Animal Crossing, and probably spent more hours watching Netflix. You won’t always be productive or on the grind, and it’s alright. It’s normal. Sometimes you’re just waiting. Sometimes you need a break in order to recover. Big or small, just keep doing what makes you excited for tomorrow and you can’t go wrong.

Once again, congratulations to the Class of 2021 on your upcoming graduation and I wish you great success in all your future endeavors. If you’ve read any of my articles or columns throughout the years, I am extra thankful to you for supporting student journalism at Stevens. This may be my last time ever writing for The Stute, so if you see me at Biergarten or East LA this summer, or even 10 summers from now, always feel welcome to say “hi.” Even if we were not friends before, you never know what the future holds.