Graduation

Four hours before my classmates lined up on the football field turf to receive their diplomas, I was at the courthouse in Lake Placid, getting my marriage license. Mother attended graduation anyway, refusing to understand why I wasn’t there. Besides prioritizing my wedding above graduation, I was averse to graduation ceremonies ever since my pre-school teachers paraded us around in caps, gowns, and those New Year’s Eve 2000 glasses. Remembering this embarrassment, I promised myself I wouldn't be forced into those absurd clothes again. And so, two days later and four hundred miles away, I wore a wedding dress instead.