9.5

Last night was the performance of the movement pieces that my room mate and another of our friends put together as a kind of culmination of their work with the movement professor last semester. The very last piece of the show was a tribute to the graduating seniors, the class of 2010. It was very emotional and almost every senior (and many juniors) cried.
I felt very strange, not just because of the movement piece but because of the fact that for the first time I didn't really feel like I was a part of the senior class (which I am). I've already graduated, I've already gone through all of those emotions, and I didn't really feel connected to people last night.
That made me sad, and I felt very awkward and out of place. Maybe it's because even while I was in school I didn't feel like I bonded with as much of the senior class as many of my classmates. I'm not a very outgoing person. I'm that shy, quiet girl who sits in the front of class, gets straight A's, honors, and excels academically, but not so much socially. I have a few close friends, but I was never a part of that big group of people that are always together, the "popular" kids.
When I decided to graduate a semester early, I didn't really think about what it would be like, staying here in the city for the spring semester. All the rest of my friends are just starting to go through what I went through months ago. And, I know this probably isn't the case, but sometimes I feel as though people forget that I'm a part of the class of 2010. I know I graduated kind of Class of 2009.5, but I started college with all of these people and it feels kind of weird not really getting to end it with them.
I know I'm just kind of rambling, but that's why it felt so strange last night. It felt as though I was somewhere completely different from my classmates, I wasn't as emotional as they were and I felt as though everyone, even the teachers, had forgotten that I was a part of that class as well.
Someone told me last night that spring graduation is emotional and winter graduation is stressful. I beg to differ. I think that Winter graduation can be just as emotional as spring, and both are equally stressful. Not as many people turn up at Winter graduation, it's true, but it was still an important moment, at least in my life, and I don't like feeling like it wasn't as...important, somehow as spring graduation.
I'm proud that I graduated early, and I'm very proud of all of my friends who are about to graduate in a week. We're all a family, whether we're graduating in 2010 or have graduated in 2009.5. Let's show the world what we can do.