Their Commencement

This evening was the commencement ceremony for the class of 2007. I arrived half an hour early. I saw lots of my course mates, all of them spread out across the hall in smiles and laughters.

I went forward to shake a friend's hand while I smiled in return, sharing her joy on graduation. Except for a few closer ones whom already knew, she would then promptly pop me a question:

"Hey Kevin, why are you not in graduation gown? It's gonna start soon."

I would give her the answer while continuing to smile. She would attempt to smile back and reply: "Oh I'm sorry.", then proceed to take a photo or two. Then I would move on to the next and the cycle continued throughout the evening.

Two hours past and I find that I can't quite smile any more. I left shortly and headed back to office. It's their commencement, not mine.