Farewell to Delta College

By Sesa Graham

A small-town girl with big dreams

I remember so fondly having my entire life planned out at the ripe age of 14. I knew what college I wanted to attend, my degree, and what my dream job would look like. Now at 25, with a few weeks left of college, I can tell you that I was completely wrong. In 2015, I went to the school I thought was best for my major and me until it wasn’t. I changed my mind what seemed to be a hundred times about what my plan was for my degree after realizing I wouldn’t enjoy what I thought I knew. I took some time off from everything and got to know myself better, my passions, interests, and dislikes. The one thing I had always had when everything else seemed to fail was writing. It started as a passion and blossomed into what I saw myself doing as a career. Delta College helped show me that passions can become a reality.

Graduation: The end is near

When I took some time off from school, the one comment I heard more than any other was, “It’s going to be so hard to go back; most people that drop out never even go back.” I am happy I got to prove them wrong. I write this with less than a month left before I graduate from college, yearning for the next step in my writing journey. I have many people to thank, especially Delta College and the Delta Collegiate, for allowing me to immerse myself in an education that has helped me grow and strive for a better future. Without Delta College, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to find the Delta Collegiate. The Delta Collegiate, the advisor, and the staff became my family and my passion in college this last year. I learned how to become an Editor-in-Chief, a leader, a friend, and a more organized individual. Without them, I couldn’t have survived my last year of school in the journalism program.

Onto the next chapter

When someone asks me, “What’s next after graduation?” I sit on that question for a minute, think about the 14-year-old version of myself, and laugh inside because even though I know what I want my next step to be, it’s alright if a different path comes into my view, and I take that step instead. Maybe I will go on to another college and further my education; maybe I will become a freelance journalist, or maybe I will finish the book I have been writing for months that I have been putting off. Whatever my “maybe” is, I know it will be right for me.

A special thank you

I never thought this day would come. I am unsure if my mother ever thought this day would come. If you have seen Gilmore Girls, then you know who Lorelai Gilmore is, and my mother is the real-life version. She had me at a young age and worked her way up to provide a loving home and good life for me. She didn’t get to finish college, and sometimes, I think she lived vicariously through me because she grew up too fast. Not only is Gilmore Girls our favorite show to watch together, but it makes being a first-generation graduate that much more special. As Rory Gilmore said in Season 3, Ep. 22 (with some changes done by me), “My ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life’s blood, Heather Wyckoff. My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn’t do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. She filled our house with love and fun and books and music, unflagging in her efforts to give me role models from Anne Rice to Louisa May Alcott to P!NK. As she guided me through these incredible twenty-five years, I don’t know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her. Thank you, Mom, you are my guidepost for everything.”