Get familiar with the memories of a graduate and do the exercises below.

Anna Faszcza Hard Work Pays Off

A neatly folded gowngowngown, an accurately hung cap, and me… who breathe deeply lying in bed and not sleep a winknot sleep a winknot sleep a wink in spite of late hours. I finally completed all the requirements and succeeded in graduationgraduationgraduation and, from a formal point of view, became a  graduategraduate (noun)graduate. The following day was expected to be a big one. I had been waiting for the commencementcommencementcommencement for so long and that night, not surprisingly, I was nervously looking at the ceiling. Now what? A new stage of life was about to start the next day, which caused a mix of feelings; anxiety, excitement, fear…

The ceremonyceremonyceremony, which is typically prepared months in advance, was held at college as the 30th in a row and took place in the assemblyassemblyassembly. It is a tradition of saying farewell to adolescence and the whole academic communityacademic communityacademic community. A. .....  Surprisingly, this idea dates back to early universities in Europe and it’s older than the U.S.A.!

Each ceremony differs slightly. At my academy, we decided to have a lively one. The processionalprocessionalprocessional part, the most formal one, involved the entry of the graduating class and singing of the national anthemsinging of the national anthem [sing the national anthem]singing of the national anthem. When everybody took their seats, the headmasterheadmasterheadmaster welcomed the participants and gave a speechgave a speech [give a speech]gave a speech. B. ..... At our ceremony, it was the class presidentclass presidentclass president who recalled our first multi‑daymulti‑daymulti‑day trip, which was absolutely fantastic. It was fun to laugh at the memories, as well as those moments from the trip known only to us, which we all were part of.

That was the moment to celebrate our hard work and accomplishmentsaccomplishments [accomplishment]accomplishments. I could easily see my parents taking pride intaking pride in [take pride in]taking pride in my having completed all requirements. It wasn’t a piece of cake, though. It required well‑organised time and much self‑determinationself‑determinationself‑determination graduategraduate (verb)graduate. Then, there was the highlighthighlighthighlight when each student stepped outstepped out [step out]stepped out to be handed a diplomabe handed a diploma [hand a diploma]be handed a diploma. C. ..... What path in life would each of us choose?  At some point, Tony, who was sitting next to me, pokedpoked [poke]poked me with his elbow to let me know it was my turn. So I stood up fast and energetically headed to the headmaster. I was awardedwas awarded [be awarded]was awarded a diploma with honoursdiploma with honoursdiploma with honours for very good results. I was so nervous that I don’t remember the moment I reached the headmaster and received the diploma. Due to a great shock, I forgot to shift the tasselstassels [tassel]tassels to the left (they are usually worn on the right side of the cap and shifted to the left when graduates receive their diplomas). D. ..... My hands were shaking with great excitement. I was holding the results of all those years of hard work and sleepless nights in my hands. Daily effort for all those years was worth it.

Once all the students got their diplomas, we were allowed to stand up, mix with other students, and toss the capstoss the caps [toss a cap]toss the caps high into the air. We happily applaudedapplauded [applaud]applauded ourselves! It took nearly an hour to snap pictures with my family and dearest friends. Taking pictures is simply a must. Everybody congratulated me on my diploma. I still like to have a look at the picture of my class posing and making faces on commencement day. It makes me smile.

That was the moment of freedom and complete happiness and, at that point, I already knew it was one of the most beautiful and moving days of my life.

1 Źródło: Anna Faszcza, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.