Things No One Told You Before Graduation (Stories Left Untold)

We often get excited whenever we are newly admitted to the university. We stuff our bags with nice clothes and rush to school like someone being chased by a dog.

The feeling of becoming an undergraduate swirls in our minds as we resume school to begin a different phase in our lives. Soon, school stress and all starts to creep in and then, after having spent a year or two in the university, we become impatient and crave for that day; the day we are going to do our convocation and finally be called a graduate!

While in the university, we dream about the things we wish to accomplish after we graduate. Thoughts about going for our Masters, getting a stable job, making enough money to fend for ourselves or even getting married often float in our minds.

“When I graduate, I’ll finally get the chance to visit different countries. I’ll get a nice job and make lots of money,” my friend had said, grinning widely like she had just won a golden trophy. Thing is, there are stories and facts left untold.

Stories no one told me before I had to face the unexpected events. I spent most of my years in the university believing the thoughts that twitched in my mind and clouded my memory like a haze of smoke.

After my graduation, I got to know that reading and learning do not end in the university. In fact, we are expected to learn more things beyond what we had been taught in the university. It is important even in terms of seeking a job.

The world itself is highly competitive and may tend to be harsh sometimes, so we must acquire much knowledge as we can.

I remember vividly back then in school when I used to sog my legs in a bucket of cold water just to stay up at night to read. I drank coffee tire! I had the feeling that university was the peak of learning and so I gave it all my best while in school.

The necessary skills I should have cultivated, the things I saw to be unnecessary to read, the online courses I never registered for and the educative programs I never attended finally haunted me when I least expected. I got to know that certain skills are necessary to cultivate before we graduate.

Truth be told, learning continues as long as we breathe. I realized that a person who leaves his brain dormant is similar to a torchlight that does not emit light through its bulbs and so, has no means of knowing what goes on around it.

Having neglected so many things I should have done in the past, I have been taut on stitching up and acquiring all that is necessary for me to know. And that is one of the things no one told me before I graduated.     

                                                                                                                                  -Anonymous.

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