Graduation is always a stressful time, high school, undergraduate, graduate, it doesn’t matter. As someone who has now experienced all of the aforementioned seasons, each one has different stressors. I completed my graduate program this December (I know, time flies!) and let me tell you December graduates have it rough. All of the same things have to be completed, but it feels like there is much less time to complete them.

This year, I had no desire to participate in any of the usual graduation duties. I just wanted them to happen. I didn’t want to plan my reception or plan out when/where to take graduation photos. Although these don’t sound like large tasks, there is so much that goes into both of them. Not to mention, you still have to complete your coursework satisfactorily or there is no graduation and all your preparing becomes for nothing.

In high school, I got my first glimpse, I had to buy and print my own invitations, find a photographer, find outfits for the photos, plan when/where to take said photos, along with planning a joint celebration (my sister graduated college that year). Oh, and did I mention State testing and IB testing?

My undergraduate graduation was the first real stress. I graduated in May and I had family calling me in October wondering why I hadn’t taken my photos yet and when they would see invitations (very few of whom were out of state…).  Add planning a reception at my home, applying for graduate school, and everything else from high school. Talk about stress.

As my graduate graduation was approaching, it was like undergraduate all over, except this time being on the hunt for jobs and graduation is contingent on much harder work being submitted. I say all of this to say that graduation can be stressful, so if you’re graduating, relax, don’t let other people (family) add stress to what you already have going on. If you’re not graduating, leave the graduates alone, they will get it done, they don’t need the additional stress of doing things on your schedule, they were stressed before graduation got so close.

Congratulations to the Class of 2018 graduates! I wish you all the success in the world!

I would like to also recognize a new friend of mine who took my graduation photos for me, KaShay Warren. She really went above and beyond, hit angles, got in the dirt, told me when to push my glasses up, she really did it all. I hate when photographers expect you to have everything together and provide no suggestions or direction, she didn’t let me down. If you need your photos done, book her, and if you don’t, check out her Facebook and at least look at her work. FB: Optikal Illusions Photography

Check out some photos of her working & the work she created. For those of you wondering, invites went out two weeks before graduation!