May I?

Yes, the most boring pun of a title ever, but bear with me :) It's now May, the sun is shining and I haven't felt depressed in any way for over a month, yey! Darling got it right, it was just the lack of sunlight (short days during the winter and the constant gloom, cloudiness and rain). And for the first time since graduation, I didn't feel a tinge of jealousy when I was putting on my white cap on the last of April.



In Finland First of May is a national holiday. It is traditionally the worker's day when the labour unions hold marches and speeches. It is also the most important day of the year for a university student, as it mostly means the end of the spring period. The whole week until the First of May is full of parties, events and general boozing. And at the eve many students (and other people like me who just like the First of May festivities) gather at the city center to don their caps at the same time. You get the cap by graduating from high school and once upon a time it was a very revered symbol of academic success. Nowadays we have too many Masters to fill all the few vacancies available... But the tradition of wearing the cap during the First of May is still alive.

Anyway, there are masses of university students, all happy, young and wearing the colours of their faculties or student unions. When I was studying at the university, I was quite active in student unions, being a chairperson for a few years in my own union. I loved every bit of it, never mind the back-stabbing politics and clashes with the treasury. I've missed being a student. And last year, when I was there at the 'hill', I felt so jealous of all those students who were still having fun. But this year, I could just enjoy being who I am, even if it means that I'm a graduate.

Maybe it's because I've joined some project groups at my workplace (where I can make something of a difference, more so than in a student union for sure :D ). Maybe because I've found other things to fill my free time than studying (dolls, RPG and cute clothes <3 ). Maybe because now I feel like I have friends outside the student union as well and I'm not just the working class outcast. Or maybe it's because my little sister is going to graduate as well and now I'm not the only one anymore in my family to have quit university. Shared misery <3 No, mostly because of you, my friends ;)