Graduation

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I can remember my middle school and college graduation, but high school graduation is somewhat of a blur. I imagine it looked quite a lot like the others. They were all virtually identical, just with varying ages in participation. I understand the symbolic nature of graduation to some extent. I don't know why specifically robes and square caps, I'm pretty sure I have had the same thought at every graduation I've attended (being why?). I understand the value of a rite of passage, helping people recognize their progression, but, otherwise, the ceremony felt excessive (pretentious maybe?).

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My middle school graduation was held outside, which is why I can recall it clearly. College graduation felt like an end, personally speaking, so I can recall it with some detail. You sit awhile, walk across a stage, receive something to contain a diploma/degree, and then sit back down. I remember the sea of unidentifiable individuals in black robes and caps vividly. To simultaneously be rewarded for personal effort and reduced to a pool of black, devoid of selfhood, was an interesting combination.