Last month, I walked across the stage and received my diploma. All my hard work over the past few years has finally paid off, and I finally crossed the proverbial finish line.
I always imagined graduation to be such a big deal—a momentous event marking the end of an era. And while it is worth celebrating, it’s not as momentous as it seems. In fact, it isn’t the end at all. From yesterday to today I am still an intern, still have the same skills, and still don’t know exactly what the future has in store for me. All I have now that I didn’t have yesterday is formal validation of skills I’ve been developing for years. However, when I compare myself today to myself at the start of my academic journey, this is where I see significant change.
I look around the office and see coworkers who have been where I stand today, each of them having forged different paths. The same is true for my friends and family members. Life isn’t as linear as we would like it to be. Plans change, and new opportunities arise. No two career paths look exactly the same, and no one ever stops growing.
If school is where learning begins, then graduation is not an ending; it’s simply where learning changes form. We determine what jobs we like and don’t like, discover our skills and weaknesses, learn how to balance our needs and wants, and generally improve everything we do.
The world is unpredictable and we can only count on our own experience, judgment, and intuition. The thought that we never truly graduate is scary but also empowering. It tells us that we get to decide our own destiny one day at a time. At Agency 877, this mindset reminds us that staying curious, reflective, and open to growth allows us to show up better for our teammates, our clients, and the work we put into the world. So here’s to graduation—not the end, but simply a checkpoint in the life-long process of learning and evolving.