Rating: 💋 💋 💋 💋
This past Monday, May 18th, I realize it had been exactly one year since I walked across the burning steps of a picturesque academic building, clad in a black polyester robe, and stopped in the middle of my walk because I heard someone - I later discovered it was my brother - scream my name. After that brief pause, I remembered what I was doing and accepted my college diploma from a smiling woman whom I had never seen before.
Now, don't worry. That is all I have to say about my college graduation. I am not here to talk about that event, but rather what comes afterwards. My only thoughts on graduation right now are this: I am so so sorry to the class of 2020. High school, college, grad school - you are all so amazing. You deserve so much better than you got, and I so want to make this up to you.
For our purposes, the only reason the anniversary of my graduation matters is that, on that day, my parents gave me a bottle of Miraval to celebrate. I can never decide if Miraval or Whispering Angel rose is my favorite wine, but it is definitely one of the two. Can I have two favorites? Regardless, I had been saving this bottle of Miraval to celebrate an occasion I had hoped for all year long. Sadly, it has not happened yet, and we are now past the two month mark in this quarantine, so it may take some time longer to achieve that goal. I decided to drink it to celebrate the anniversary of graduating college instead.
This Miraval rose really is the perfect summer wine. With just a hint of sweetness and a cool, light flavor, it makes every occasion feel a bit more special. I adore it.
The night of graduation, my family got dinner at this beautiful restaurant in Greenwich, La Petite Boucherie. With the scrumptious French fare and delightful staff, it became my favorite New York City restaurant instantly. A year later, I was not dining on boeuf tartare and a delicate filet of saumon, but I still think the mean Cacio e Pepe I made was a pretty tasty substitute.
This recipe was ridiculously easy to make! My first time around and I only had to refer back to the recipe once, to check the stovetop temperature for the sauce. With minimal ingredients and a quick cooking time, it was the perfect meal to make during lockdown too. The most work I put in was grating the Pecorino Romano and Parmesan, and they smelled so heavenly and looked so beautiful that it did not feel like work at all. I had never had this dish before, but I always consider ordering cacio e pepe at restaurants. I never do though because it seems so simple. This recipe proves that logic. Cacio e pepe is so easy to make, you might as well order something more complex when you are out, unless you are having a serious craving or you are in Rome, its birthplace. That being said, easy does not mean bottom-tier. The entire time it cooked the kitchen flooded with the delicious aromas of cheese, butter, and pepper; I was so excited to take my first bite.
Simple, but mind-blowing. The cheesy butter sauce and fiery cracked pepper made each bite an absolute delight from start to finish. Buttered noodles do not thrill me very much, but make it gourmet? I am totally there. I am running there, in fact. One year out of college and you know what? Life tastes pretty good.
I appreciate so much about my time at Fordham. I did not have a dream school, but I came to fall in love with the incredible community at the college I wound up at. It was not a perfect university. Does one exist? I highly doubt it. I had some very difficult times while I was there, but I also had some of the best experiences of my life so far. Through both the bad and the good, I learned so much about myself and the person I want to become, as well as about the world and the wonderful people surrounding me.
I do not miss college in the sense that I would rather be there now. I did it and I am done with it, thank you very much. I have my present to occupy my attention. Fordham helped create my present though, and for that, I am very grateful.
It is crazy to reflect on the year that has elapsed since. My world feels so different sometimes that college feels a lot longer that a year ago. It might as well exist in a whole other dimension. In the past year, I have gone from working as a nanny for an amazing family, to planning conferences as a concierge for a media corporation, to working with clients at a job that helped me take my first steps into the industry I have dreamt about since preschool. I started modeling, got some pretty cool acting gigs, and wrote four screenplays. I moved into my first apartment ever, in a borough that was brand-new to me, and I got to share the experience with my oldest roommate and friend, my lovely sister Shannon. I dated a guy who actually took me on real dates in addition to just hanging out, which was a crazy new experience. Then we broke up, because it was only a starting point in the dating world for me. I had some incredible weekends hanging out with my friends, because life changes when you leave campus, but all the best friends stick it through to the other side. My friends and I even got drinks after work sometimes. How grown up is that?! It was not all beautiful at times. Dealing with landlords is not always fun. Asserting your voice in a big, hectic world can take quite a lot of guts and nerve. Never in a million years did I think that a year from taking my first steps into the real world by walking across some steps and receiving a slip of fancy paper, I would not be allowed to walk outside in the world at all, and receiving an item from somebody else at such a close proximity with no protective gear would be considered highly dangerous. Yet, here we are. It has been quite a ride.
I guess what I am saying is, there is no formula for navigating "the real world", because we are all on slightly different routes as we progress towards our different goals. If you don't pursue a path that leads you to grad school, then this is your first time living without a class schedule to hold you accountable in seventeen years. Seventeen! That is not even including preschool. From what I have heard of it, even grad school is wholly unlike the school schedule we have lived in for the first portion of our lives. Who even remembers life before school, really? That is all we know, then, suddenly, we are thrown out into the wide expanse of the whole rest of our lives. It can seem daunting, but it is also very exciting. Looking around, so many of my fellow graduates have done such cool things this year, and this will continue for them as well as those graduating and joining us this spring. The most notable discovery in this brand new world is that, without the structures of an institution guiding us, we are totally in charge of our lives. We make the choices and we need to listen and trust in ourselves. It could be scary, but the freedom is so exhilarating that there is no time for fear. Personally, it is very important to me that my life is not a list of things I said I was going to do someday, but a list of things I have actually done. That slip of fancy paper is the gateway to our entire lives, and it is time to meet it head on. I am excited to see what the second year brings.
Congratulations to the class of 2020! I am so incredibly proud of you guys!
Sending all my love 💛
XX,
MK
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