Thinking Outside the Cap and Gown

by Lydia Rule, RTF Staff Writer

The crowd hushes for a moment, a gentle rustle of fans is heard, the atmosphere grows hot and sticky with each tense breath, and then… The band starts up, playing the traditional march as a line of graduates proceeds down the long aisle, each person in timing with the song so only a single step is heard.

Just as many others have done before them, they march up to the stage, take a seat, and wait for their name to be called. It is another typical graduation with speeches of a glorious future and the Grand Finale of hundreds of caps being tossed into the air like confetti.

However, most of the participants in this seemingly stereotype ceremony have something in common: they aren’t thinking outside of the cap and gown.

Let me explain. Most graduates carry with them certain high school myths, and later, realize the fallacy of those myths. They do not think beyond the unrealistic high school fantasies that are intertwined into their lives like a tassel.

Myth #1: Friends are forever

After high school, people go their separate ways, and more often than not, vanish from your life. They change, and the ties that once made you inseparable, become obsolete. While memories do last, do not make your college decisions based on where your friends are going. Eventually -with only a few exceptions- your friends will choose a different path than you.

The best way to combat this myth is to realize that you have the Ultimate Best Friend who will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). His plans should be what you base your life decisions upon.

Myth #2: The world is yours for the taking

If you ever attend a graduation, most likely you’ll listen to a speech that is all starry fluff about how “I will do great things, my ambitions, this class will conquer their dreams, I am going to achieve success…” I’m sorry, but tackling the world is too great a task for any one person! Only Christ could claim that he had overcome the world (John 16:33b… but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world). The Bible says we can “do all things through Christ”, but on our own strength, we can’t make it to the finish line of true success.

Question: What is the definition of true success?
 Answer: God’s will
 

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Start by trying to make a difference in the place and time you’re in; it’s the small victories that often shake the world the most. Be reasonable about your goals. If you shoot for the stars and miss, it’s a long distance back to planet earth. The ladder to success can’t be climbed in a day; you have to reach your short- term goals before you will ever reach the long-term ones. Basically, take it step by step. The path to success is one that Christ should navigate with us. We should trust him with our every step.

In the eighteen hundreds, Vincent van Gogh was quoted as saying,” Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” Small steps (like seeking God’s will, praying, reading your Bible, finding a good church near your college, and relying on Christ’s strength) will bring you closer to God’s will for your life. That will be the greatest “success” you will ever know.

Myth #3: Life is over once high school is finished

Sure, everyone sheds tears at graduation and wishes that they could turn back Father Time’s Clock, but you still have a life ahead of you. High School carries with it a lot of immaturity, and moving on just simply means that you’re ready for the next stage. I remember listening to a graduating senior as she talked about how she couldn’t believe high school was finished and that basically, she felt her life had come to a screeching halt. In actuality, when you graduate it is not the end, it is only the kick-off for the beginning.

So when that day comes when you have to put on those bulky robes with stiff white collars, and that smug little cap celebrating high school, remember inside your heart, that you do not have to wear the cap and gown of high school myths. Think outside of the cap and gown. You won’t regret it.

Bio: Lydia Rule is an avid writer. Her writings have been published in over fifty magazines and online publications. She is looking forward to graduating from college in October (and although she managed to sneak out of wearing a cap and gown for her high school graduation, she is going to wear a cap and gown for this occasion… her mother insists).