As a spinoff of the wedding thread, I thought I’d start one on graduations.
How I hate these events. Hour after hour of endless speeches. Endless calling of names. Even worse when they announce the clubs or honors of the graduate. The picture taking. The clapping and chanting.
I hated my high school graduation. I skipped my college graduation. I suffered through a college graduation a few years ago and swore, “Never again!”
Does anyone like these things?
Somebody must like’em, or they’d knock it off. Wouldn’t they? I hate graduations, too. A boring waste of time; I only went to mine because in was cheaper than graduating in abentia. Thus, my co-workers and I were among the bored people who were acting badly and trying to turn someone else’s pomp and circumstance into a fun event. I didn’t dress the way they wanted us to and I didn’t act they way they wanted us to. And over half the school’s IT department was in the stands, hollering at me. That was over 20 years ago, and I doubt they’ve learned a thing. They probably still blackmail poor graduating students into attending their stupid, stifling event, and they still wonder why people won’t act ‘right’.
The worst ones are the ones held outside in the broiling sun. Or if it rains, in the stuffy non-air conditioned gym. So either way you sweat like a pig. Fun . . .
I skipped my high school graduation because I had a university exam on the same day. I only went to my university convocation because I knew how much it meant to my father/grandparents…my mother couldn’t have cared less. They’re boring, drawn out affairs that are always uncomfortably hot. It’s just another thing we share in common.
As far as I was concerned…getting my iron ring was the day that university ended for me. I didn’t need a diploma, I had my ring.
No one came to my high-school graduation. No one in my family, I mean. My father was going to go, but at the last minute he said, “You know what? Why don’t you . . .” and handed me the car keys. I took a book and read through the entire thing.
There were 976 people in my graduating class. Our speaker was some Burger King executive and his address was titled “Will You Have It Your Way?”
I don’t think so. Weddings generally feature two people you care about doing something awesome; good food; good booze; dancing; and an opportunity to socialize. Graduations generally feature one person you care about (one among hundreds) celebrating a big milestone. The spectators get very little out of it, besides a sense of pride in their loved one. I’ll go to graduations, but only as an act of love.
NajaHusband and I both skipped our college graduation ceremonies. He’s wrapping up a PhD this year, and probably won’t walk for that, either. He figures the thesis defense is the big deal anyway, so if people want to come celebrate something, they can come watch him defend.
I went to my college graduation only because it cost exactly the same to attend and to not attend. I boycotted staying home.
Only because they make me feel inadequate.
Do you really have to wear it on your little finger?
Graduation ceremonies are transition rituals, and as such play a valuable role in society. Many of you may feel that you are “above” such ceremonies, but to many, and to society as a whole, they serve to bind the group together as a unit. The lack of involvement is one of the symptoms of Our Delining Society In The West.
Yeah…I’m wearing it right now. I wear it 99% of the time, I pretty much only take it off when I’m in the shower or the pool (or when I’m playing with it).
I’d actually say the prom is more of the high school ritual that binds the group together. For college, unless you’re at a very small school, I don’t think there is any sort of a group bonding. By the time many people graduate from college, they may only be taking one class that final semester or tied up in an internship.
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I hate the things; I don’t think I need to elaborate on why when the OP and subsequent posters have done it so well for me.
The only reason I didn’t put up a fight about going to my high school graduation was because I got chosen to sing. For college, many of my credits were achieved through distance learning, and I actually had the choice to either complete my degree via DL or attend a brick-and-mortar school for one semester. I chose the DL, and I’d be lying if I said that avoiding a graduation ceremony (and the ensuing family kerfluffle) wasn’t a factor in my decision.
Spare me from pointless, ritualistic ceremonial bullshit of ANY kind.
Just last weekend my wife and I drove 500 miles (one way) and sat on folding chairs for 3 1/2 hours in the 90 degree sun for my nephew’s UC San Diego graduation. I could have said no and nobody would have said anything, but how often does someone graduate from college (this kid ain’t going to grad school)? College graduation is a big deal and is one of the few opportunities in life to legitimately be the center of attention. Did I enjoy the long boring speeches? No. Could I have made better use of the weekend? Absolutely, but I felt that my nephew had earned it and while I will never get those 3 1/2 hours of my life back, I would do it all over again…
With the ring, right? 
Zing!!!
Yeah, well, I got nothin’. Good job. 
I didn’t go to my high school graduation. No way was I going to plop down a large amount of money for an oversized dress and a silly hat I would never wear again.
I despise graduation ceremonies.
Highschool? Fortunately I didn’t have one because I skipped the last year of highschool.
First university? All my classmates were called up on stage to receive their diplomas, while I sat in the stands wondering why they passed me by, thinking “Oh crap, I’m not graduating.” Then, once I was a convinced that my academic career had just gone down the shitter, they called me up. (I had a slightly different degree.)
Second university? So hot that I dislocated a couple of ribs from my backbone due to heat cramps.
Third university? The sons of bitches put the lot of us in underground steam tunnels for half an hour prior to the ceremony – leaving us all very hot, very sweaty, and very pissed off.
The next time I get a diploma, it will be by trading in one I aready have, along with two box-tops and one thin dime – no ceremony required.
A pox on graduation ceremonies.