Getting Through Graduation

So, I’m sitting in my room literally a week on from graduating, and it feels a bit weird. For the majority of my life I’ve been in some sort of education system and now it’s just vanished. What do you do next? Blah, Blah, Blah. In a time like this when you’ve got loads of people saying ‘ooo what are you doing now then?’ or ‘oooh it’s into the real world now!’ you can feel pretty rubbish. But let’s think about it realistically. Most of us have been in the real world. Going to uni or whatever you plan to do IS the real world for you. For people who you are surrounded by to think you were just messing about for years is ridiculous. If you’re passionate and dedicated to something it’s very much your reality.

ANYWAY (Stop ranting Sam)

The actual day of graduation was great, spending time with family and friends and various alcoholic drinks to get you through the day of what felt like thousands of photos and waiting around. But it was all worth it. Even to see my parents understand the fast pace of the underground (god guys this is the ‘real world’ remember).

One part of the day I’ll never forget was walking on the stage of the Royal festival where you are greeted by fashion icon Zandra Rhodes. This story sounds at first slightly sad but trust me it gets better. So, we all were getting nervous before our names got called out and after every three walked out the audience were meant to clap. Obviously, that never works well and I came out to literal silence. Nothing. As I walked towards her thought is this really it? Three years of hard work and I’m greeted with a massive slap in the face silence? By the time I’d thought that I'd reached Zandra Rhodes and the cheers etc had begun (shout out to my first year flat mate for getting it going). I can honestly say it gave me one of the best feelings. It’s not an arrogant or egotistical thing, its realising you have a lot to be proud of. Not just the physical work but any issue’s and challenges throughout the whole time. And there’s nothing I would change. In the heat of any moment you can say and think the worst things about people and situations but eventually you’ll realise it’s all a test and little milestones like finishing uni keep you going.  (Shut up now Sam, this is nearly as bad as the ranting)

When people say it’s easy for a guy to get dressed up for occasions it does my nut in. I’ve never thought oh I’ll just through any old shirt on and that’ll do. I take time (maybe too much time) sorting out what I want to dress like because it an important part of me.

Despite what my mum and nan wanted, I was not going to be wearing a tie. Firstly, I think they can be ridiculous to put on and secondly, I’m alright with not getting strangled with the top button of my shirt done up thanks. I brought a basic skinny fit suit from River Island which was great. I usually struggle a bit with skinny trousers because I feel I have thighs like Bam Bams stick from The Flintstone’ and for once they fit like a glove. I then grabbed a stipe shirt from the Topman sale for £20ish pounds which hit the spot. I did see one The Kooples website but my bank balance can’t afford gems like that just yet. The burgundy and navy stripes went very well with the suit and looked just as good without the tie. And last but not least the shoes. I’ve got a slight problem where I buy a ridiculous amount of shoes. It’s stupid but my reasoning is, they’ll all come in handy one day I’m sure. For this outfit, I wanted to go for something different and found some bad boy’s in the Office sale. They are a pair of Ted Baker loafers with and paisley design. They are a groovy little pair of dudes and they will do me well for a long time I think. I got a few comments of are those slippers? Nah mate they are just genuine ace material. However, they did have the comfort of slippers so I’ll give them that.

We finished the day off at a pop up Jamie Oliver’s (bit posh for me) where I cleaned up a decent plate of steak and chips. Genuinely a day I’ll never forget and that’s not just because of the steak. I got a few little gifts nothing special except for one little thing my mum picked out. It was one of those tiny signs with an inspirational sentence. Usually they do my head in but this one made me stop. All it says is “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams”. It’s quite generic I know but just stood out for me, and to you can half-heartedly peruse things and not always get the best outcome. So whatever I or you go for, just go for it yeah?  

After having a week back at work it’s given me time to reflect on it all and I can say it’s been a quality time. The positives always win against the negatives of the three or so years and I’ve learnt a lot about myself and actual information from my course that I’ll always keep close.

This time next week I’ll be at my last day of work before I head off to a music festival in Spain with some of my closest friends, so the next post will be slightly delayed but it’ll all be worth it.

I’ve already got some good comments about me starting this so onwards and upwards and hope you’ve had a good time reading this.

Thanks very much,

Sam 

(Wack in one of those fake photos they love to force you to have)