As I see it...

"Two finals, a ten-page paper, and a presentation stand in between me and graduation!"

"Four finals and a capstone presentation until summer!"

"Only three exams to go!"

These are the kind of statuses that are flooding my Facebook news feed. No matter what the combination of obstacles is, graduation is so close we can almost smell it! Kinda...

I've picked out my outfit and I'm ready walk across that stage on Saturday just like everyone else. Walking through the halls of Massman just to get lunch has never felt this way before. Perhaps it is because I know that I will never walk through campus again as an undergraduate. Not as SOL president and not as a student, but today as I sat down in a pew during my sister's high school graduation Mass, I realized that I shouldn't be sad about leaving.

As I walk across that stage on Saturday, so will thousands of other high school students across the nation. What came to mind during my sister's Mass was that while I am on my way out, others are on their way in.

The first few pews were full of Bishop Ward High School seniors getting ready to graduate. Just like me four years ago, their eyes were full of so much promise. I just thought to myself, "Where will they be four years from now?"

I prayed that their lives would be illuminated and that God would help them find their individual and unique callings. It was a special moment for me as a Latina and as a Catholic, because I felt excited for what their lives could become.

Now, I am able to look at graduation not just as me leaving a place that I have grown to know well, but as an opportunity for others to come in and start their own lives.

Below are a few pictures from this afternoon that I would like to share with you:

My two beautiful sisters. Three very different sets personalities and traits, but we understand that at the end of the day, we'll always be there for each other. 

My father embracing my sister to congratulate her. When I see my father I think of everything this man has had to do in order to make sure his daughters were going to be have a fair chance at life. 

My mother's loving kiss. I think of all of the times my mother has had to put up with a stubborn child and my heart feels heavy because I understand that her love is infinite and unconditional. 

As I approach graduation, I promise that I will feel proud of my accomplishments and happy that I am paving the way and also getting out of the way so that a new generation may come and accomplish their  own dreams. 

Jackie