To, The Class of 2017

An honest letter from a fellow batchmate.

Hi. Have you been sleeping well? Are you even getting enough sleep? I know I’m not. I have been busy working on my final year project (and binging on Netflix Originals) most of the nights. I’m guessing most of you are in the same boat as me. It’s okay though, right? I mean, this is all normal. We are just a little anxious, that’s all. I mean, all we are supposed to do in the next few months is: Graduate from our colleges, leave our friends behind, seek (or join) jobs that are supposedly fulfilling, shift to a new city, make new friends there, learn how to pay the bills on time, learn how to file taxes, and a bunch of other things. Basically, all we gotta do is become an adult. That’s all, folks. All we gotta to is become a fucking adult in the next few months.

It’s funny how as kids our parents tell us to do whatever we want and we end in a system where we need to seek permission every time we gotta take a piss. I loved my school life though. Met some great people, and made amazing friends that I still keep in touch with. Plus I always knew what was after school, right? College — which (I still believe) is like a school for grown ups, but not really. I always knew it was going to be the same old BS. You go to your campus everyday, attend classes that are now sometimes taught by a little older people than you were used to, and you still gotta take permission whenever you need to take a piss. That was all comforting though. Routines are comforting, I guess.

It’s almost super weird how as a result of this system, we become so used to taking instructions for everything. I know, I know “You’re a rebel and no one tells you what to do!” but seriously, how different is your mom telling you to eat healthy than a fitness blogger telling you take a protein-rich diet? All that has changed are the instructors and the medium. Here’s a very weird fact though: You know who else is really used to being instructed and following routines? Convicts. Does that mean college students are in a lot of ways like convicts? Well, I’m no expert but here are the facts: We (both) are put in an environment that we are not used to, no matter how much time we spend in this environment we always live in a constant fear of losing social credibility, a lot of us suffer from some form of anxiety and/or depression, and all of us have no idea of what’s next.

And please don’t get me wrong. I have no beef with my schools or my college. In fact, I loved most of it. But there were some times when I wasn’t okay and it felt like the education system could have done better. However, this post isn’t about berating the school system, all I genuinely want to know is: Do schools or colleges even prepare us for what’s next? If yes, then could you tell me how? If no, then why the fuck not? Teaching college students how to live independently after they have graduated seems like a genuine business someone should get into, which brings us to the end of the post.

I know you’re afraid. Afraid of the changes that are about to take place, of the uncertainties that lies ahead. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what exactly it is you’ll need to know to become an adult. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t know how I’m supposed to start doing adult things in a few months of time either. What I do know is we are strong, stronger than we think we are and we can achieve whatever we set our minds too. The feelings you’re going through, the fears you have right now are being experienced by thousands if not millions of other people that will graduate the same year you will. You are going to have a good life, but some days will be bad, in fact some days will be so shitty you’ll want to give up entirely. But, here’s the one thing I want you to remember on those hard hard days: You are not alone.

Farewell, Class of 2017