Alice

Another commencement exercise has come and gone and 380-ish young women went off into the world with no idea how good they had it for four years. They THINK they know and appreciate their time in the bubble...but they don't. They don't know yet what a safe place they were in. How many worries were taken care of for them. How many people were looking out for them.

When they realize that not everyone wants them to succeed, that friends are harder to make when you don't share bathrooms and classes and meals and EVERYTHING, and that people will not always give them second chances...they will look back with a longing so strong that their chest will hurt. They will cry for the memories they made. They will physically ache to see their friends again. They will search their apartments and houses for something without really knowing what exactly they're looking for. But I know what they're looking for because I looked for it a long time. They're looking for the secret trap door that will send them down the rabbit hole and back to Day One, when everything was ahead of them. When decisions were easy and time was infinite.

I hope the graduates of 2011 find their next Wonderland.