Greetings!

Shalom! Literally translated to peace, the Hebrew word Shalom can mean both hello and goodbye. I thought it was fitting for this week’s greeting. Because yes, it is a greeting. But it’s also a goodbye.

Finals are about to start, and the semester is drawing to a close. This is my final semester, both as a student and as an intern. This week is my last official blog post. 

I remember when I was enrolling in B.C. One of my first times coming to the campus to get my enrollment set up, I saw a student having photos taken outside, as she posed in her red graduation gown. As I watched her jumping up in the air, waving her arms, and tossing her hat up, I told myself that that would be me in a couple years. I planned out my mini photo shoot.

Here I am, a year and a half later, about to graduate. And it’s 2020, so…yeah, that’s not happening. #Corona, am I right? WOOT WOOT!

Funny thing is, I didn’t even care about the graduation ceremony. I just wanted to get the cap and gown, and bribe one of my friends to snap a bunch of cool pics of me in all my graduate glory on our gorgeous campus, which I still miss. When all this started, I didn’t think I was never going back to campus as a student. I wish I could, one last time.

We still don’t know if our graduation will be in person or not. But either way, find your own way to celebrate your achievement. Fellow B.C. graduates, this achievement is no small thing, and your efforts should be celebrated. Because you worked hard. “Nil sine magno labore – Nothing without great effort”, as our school motto goes. Your efforts were great. And they deserve recognition. 

As every speaker points out at EVERY graduation, a graduation is also called a commencement, because with every end comes a beginning. What they don’t tell you is that’s why both of them are so utterly terrifying. I’ve got my degree. Now what? It’s up to me to answer that, and figure out what comes next. So, yeah. Scary. But in a way, it’s also thrilling. Let’s throw some more Latin in here. Carpe Diem! Seize the day! You’ve got this. Take the opportunities that come your way, and don’t let fear hold you back.

As I close off this greeting (which I somehow turned into my pseudo graduation speech), I have to thank several people. First, to Vicky, the wonderful third grade teacher I worked with my first year out of school. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t convinced me to go to college.

Thank you to every professor I had. Many of you went above and beyond the line of duty, making sure your students could succeed. I’m grateful for that, and I won’t forget it. I’d love to give you each a personal shout out, but the list would probably be just a little too long. You know who you are.

A mega thank you to the wonderful Professor Roni Natov, English Majors Counselor, who is also in charge of the intern program. Thank you for guiding me, and all of us, through the infamous Degreeworks, for always being available and ready to listen, and for creating a community for English and Creative Writing majors. Thank you for giving us interns a safe space to express ourselves with our writing, for helping us improve our editing and communication skills, and develop our own personal styles. And thank you most of all  for being so darn fantastic! Can I get another WOOT! WOOT! (Do it, no one will see you!)

And finally, thank you to all of my awesome fellow interns, for your hard work, dedication, and encouragement, for delivering week after week with amazing pieces of writing that never ceased to blow me away. Each of you has a distinct voice that’s all your own. Thank you for sharing your writing with me, and for letting me share mine with all of you. Above all, thank you for all your wonderful support. I’m honored to have worked with you, and will miss each and every one of you! We’ll always have The Junction. And our Whatsapp chat, so um, hello people, KEEP IN TOUCH!

Good luck with finals, everyone! Study hard, but don’t forget to breathe!

Congratulations to all our graduates. Wherever life takes you next, I wish you all the best, and most of all, I wish you peace.

Shalom.

-Chaya Nachum