When I was about 10 years old, the microwave in my kitchen broke. So, as one does, my parents went to the Walmart down the street and bought a new one. But as my dad was unplugging our dirty, old microwave to replace it with the new one, my then 6-year-old brother began to cry. He sobbed as my dad carried the microwave into the basement to be put in the trash later that week.
I don’t know if my brother actually developed an emotional attachment to that microwave or just thought he would never have another hot pocket, pizza roll, or TV dinner ever again, but he was upset for weeks.
My little brother knew from the age of six that change was hard.
And now, as I am about to graduate, everything is my microwave. Every paper I turn in, club meeting I attend, and poster I take off my wall is another (in the nicest way possible) old, dirty microwave I have thrown in the garbage. And with each one, I sit crisscross applesauce on the kitchen floor and sob.
But, as Taylor Swift says, you know when it’s time to go. My microwaves are used up. Some of the buttons no longer work, it takes longer to heat up the food, and there are stains and crumbs all over the bottom. Most of my friends threw away their microwaves early. They were not yet old and dirty, but no longer of necessity. My microwaves have about a week left before they are completely broken and no longer usable. And then, replacements must be bought.
These replacements are necessary. The new kitchen appliances will be bigger, more technologically advanced, and faster. They will most definitely be an improvement, but that doesn’t mean the memories cannot be grieved.
I am crossing the finish line. The curtain is closing, and I am taking my final bow. The last page is being turned. I am using analogies to delay the inevitable. My time at Bonaventure is ending.
I am sad.
I am happy.
I am scared.
I am excited.
I am confused.
But most of all, I am hopeful.
As many of my friends would say, the world is my oyster.
For what feels like the first time in my life, I can do whatever I want, go wherever I want, and be whoever I want.
I cannot wait for graduation. I will walk the stage, get my diploma, turn my tassel, and hug my friends and family.
Then I will get in my car and drive to the store.
And there, I will pick out my new, and improved, microwave.