The Space Between Grief and Hope: A Graduating Senior’s Thoughts

by Christine Brown

Christine Brown

Christine Brown

     This is not what I thought this season would look like. I imagined a wrinkled navy cap and gown hanging in my closet, tassel and cords draped on the hanger, and my biggest worries would be whether the wrinkles would fall out in time for the big day. I know I’m not alone in processing this loss, a disenfranchised grief for all seniors. It feels insensitive to talk about my sadness over a lost rite of passage, a celebration of my hard work, when many in our communities are living in fear over job losses or working overtime as essential workers. I sat with my grief long enough to feel it, but I did not get too comfortable in the mourning.

    In the space between grief and hope, I had a moment of clarity. I realized I might miss the chance to turn my tassel, but I was gaining an unprecedented opportunity. What a gift for my BSW graduating class of 2020 to be able to graduate at the brink of such change in our communities! Our communities need change agents, advocates, and leaders right now more than ever. COVID-19 has touched us all, every town, every state, every nation.

    We are poised to step into communities that need social workers like never before. We are equipped to tackle challenges, to overcome adversity, and to advocate for those who are hurting in our communities. We won’t be mentally exhausted from working in the field for decades; we will have the enthusiasm of new college graduates who believe they can change the world. We are stepping into a world that has hit pause on life, a world where our vulnerabilities have been laid open. Gaps in healthcare are visible to everyone, the plight of the homeless has broken through the hardened veneer of so many sensibilities, and now, the entire country understands what food insecurity means.

    Hope is what social workers want to give others. It is the feeling we have for our work. On Saturday, May 9, 2020, I will celebrate my accomplishments with my children and family at home in social isolation. Yes, I will probably have wet eyes for a moment, but I am thrilled that my graduating class will get to bear the torch of hope into our post-COVID communities. We have a chance to leave our mark on society for generations to come, because we are social workers.

Christine Brown is a senior at Dalton State College and will graduate with her BSW in May 2020. She has been accepted at Campbellsville University to work on her master’s degree in social work in the fall of 2020.