Post by Tokrochiru on Jun 9, 2013 0:35:00 GMT -5
"We are gathered here today to celebrate one very special thing," The man behind the microphone says. "Success. The current and future success of our beloved students. As we bid our goodbyes to these talented young men and women, and they in turn say farewell to Whitehill University..."
The rest just fades into the background. It's your typical graduation speech. Not really worth listening to. No disrespect meant to the dean of course. I'm certain that he put a lot of time and effort into it, and I'm certain that it's a fine tribute to this year's graduates, myself included. It's just hard to listen to a long-winded speech when you're running on two hours of sleep.
I have no one to blame but myself for my own sleep deprivation. I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out what I plan to do after today. A degree in applied magiscience is all well and good, but I have no idea what to do with it. It's not due to any lack of passion in the field. I've been fascinated with both magic and science ever since I was a child. It's the nearly limitless career options that have me worked up. How does a person decide to pursue just one field when there are so many options available?
Maybe if I fall asleep here, no one will notice. I'm far back enough in line that the only people who'll notice will be the other graduates.
"Stay awake, Grant," the jerk behind me whispers as he discreetly pinches the back of my neck. "Your ability to fall asleep while standing up is impressive, but now's hardly the time, buddy."
How easily I forget that my best friend Ean is standing right behind me, dressed in the same robes, about to receive the same degree as I am.
"Grant Kattler," I hear the dean call out. I'm a bit confused about how the dean managed to make a speech and go through all the other students ahead of me in line without me noticing, but I manage to pull myself together and make my way up to the stand.
As I stand next to the dean, I take in the view of the gymnasium. I've never viewed it from this perspective before. The audience is sitting comfortably, if a bit cramped, in the floating bleachers. Sun is shining through the windows of the colorfully decorated dome.
The only way this could possibly be more irritating on my eyes were if someone were to drag the sun down from the sky and throw it at my face.
I go through the whole procedure. I shake the dean's hand, take my degree, and get off the stage. The dean calls out the name "Ean Schrier" immediately after I'm off.
My first thought after finishing with the ordeal is to make a break for the soda machine. I make my way out of the dome through the back door. The city reveals itself to my in all of its tall, shining glamour. The floating platform that the dome and I both are standing on is about 23 miles from the ground. That's pretty high, even in comparison to most of the skyscrapers and other floating platforms that mar the city of Drala.
I look for a nearby soda dispenser, and lo and behold, there's one a short distance to my left, near some potted plants. I take out a few coins that I had hidden in the pockets of my graduation robes and buy a can of Blue Santra. I lean against the outer wall of the dome and let the cold fluid coat my esophagus. The next half hour passes by swiftly as I keep my back pressed against wall. I almost nod off again, but thankfully, Ean's there to save me once again.
"You know, people are usually happy when they receive an incredibly difficult-to-achieve degree from a five star university," he tells me as he approaches. "What's the matter, man?"
"I'm just tired," is what I tell him. He laughs at me for it.
"Yeah, sure. Come on, Grant, when did that ever stop you? Remember that time you spent a solid 26 hours trying to magically animate that clay figurine you made? How's this any different?"
Ean, of course, has a point. He always does. Even if his jovial attitude might indicate otherwise, he's anything but an airhead.
"...I guess I'm just not sure where to go from here."
"What do you mean?"
"Applied magiscience covers a lot of ground. I could be anything from a machinist, to a physicist, to a medical researcher like you plan to be."
"Aaah," Ean says, leaning against the wall next to me. "If you ask me, you're thinking about this too hard. Apply your brain where it counts, man. Don't waste it on things that'll just get you worked up."
"You're right. But that doesn't really solve my problem. Even if I somehow manage to force myself to relax, I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life."
Ean rolls his eyes at me. I have to say I feel a little guilty for being such a pill right now. I'm normally much more reserved and calm than this. I'd even go so far as tall my demeanor professional. How ironic that the man who's the very opposite of professional has to remind me of that.
"Grant," he says as he puts his hands in his pockets. "Why do you think I chose to pursue medicine instead of, say, conjuration?"
"I always assumed you just picked a number at random and went with whatever field of magiscience corresponded with it."
"Well, that did happen, but that's not my point. I was just fooling when I did that. In the end, I decided to pursue the field of medical research because it's what I'm best at. What are you best at?"
I shrug. "I have no idea."
Ean sighs heavily, though not disrespectfully. He puts his thumb to his chin and waits around for a bit before finally getting back to me.
"I chose this path for a lot of reasons, Grant. Partially because I want to help people, and I generally think I'm needed. But I also wouldn't have come to this decision if I didn't also think it would lead to success. So long as the career path you take leads to success, you'll have no regrets. I'm sure of it."
And with that, Ean manages to purge me of all my worries. I've been hung up on a questions like "where will I be most useful?" I didn't actually think about actually forging a career that will make me happy.
"Thanks, Ean. I hope to be as driven as you someday."
"No problem, man. You'll get there. You just gotta learn how to stop stressing out about every little thing first."
"I don't think that's going to change anytime soon."
Ean yawns in wide-mouthed sort of way that makes me want to yawn along with him. However, I've already let out about sixteen yawns in the past 3 minutes, so my body decides to pass on it. Speaking of which...
"I'm going home," I tell Ean. "I need to get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow morning."
"Alright. Take it easy, man," he says as he reaches in his pockets for what I assume to be coins for the soda machine. I walk onto one of the transport discs near the edge of the platform, and it promptly asks me where I would like to go.
"Your destination, Mr. Kattler?"
"To my apartment, please."
Without another word, the runed, metallic disc takes off into the air and guides me through the maze of buildings and platforms. I watch as other people, pass me by on their own discs, on their way to work, or school, or home, or wherever they plan to go. Regardless of their destination, we all end up in the same place in spirit. We all work to benefit the pursuit of magical and scientific study, either directly or indirectly. As the most advanced nation in the world, that's our responsibility. Our way of life.
I pass by a family of foreigners on a nearby balcony. A tourguide of some sort stands beside them as they hold the marvels of the city.
"Welcome to Drala," the guide says to them. "I do hope you enjoy your stay."
The rest just fades into the background. It's your typical graduation speech. Not really worth listening to. No disrespect meant to the dean of course. I'm certain that he put a lot of time and effort into it, and I'm certain that it's a fine tribute to this year's graduates, myself included. It's just hard to listen to a long-winded speech when you're running on two hours of sleep.
I have no one to blame but myself for my own sleep deprivation. I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out what I plan to do after today. A degree in applied magiscience is all well and good, but I have no idea what to do with it. It's not due to any lack of passion in the field. I've been fascinated with both magic and science ever since I was a child. It's the nearly limitless career options that have me worked up. How does a person decide to pursue just one field when there are so many options available?
Maybe if I fall asleep here, no one will notice. I'm far back enough in line that the only people who'll notice will be the other graduates.
"Stay awake, Grant," the jerk behind me whispers as he discreetly pinches the back of my neck. "Your ability to fall asleep while standing up is impressive, but now's hardly the time, buddy."
How easily I forget that my best friend Ean is standing right behind me, dressed in the same robes, about to receive the same degree as I am.
"Grant Kattler," I hear the dean call out. I'm a bit confused about how the dean managed to make a speech and go through all the other students ahead of me in line without me noticing, but I manage to pull myself together and make my way up to the stand.
As I stand next to the dean, I take in the view of the gymnasium. I've never viewed it from this perspective before. The audience is sitting comfortably, if a bit cramped, in the floating bleachers. Sun is shining through the windows of the colorfully decorated dome.
The only way this could possibly be more irritating on my eyes were if someone were to drag the sun down from the sky and throw it at my face.
I go through the whole procedure. I shake the dean's hand, take my degree, and get off the stage. The dean calls out the name "Ean Schrier" immediately after I'm off.
My first thought after finishing with the ordeal is to make a break for the soda machine. I make my way out of the dome through the back door. The city reveals itself to my in all of its tall, shining glamour. The floating platform that the dome and I both are standing on is about 23 miles from the ground. That's pretty high, even in comparison to most of the skyscrapers and other floating platforms that mar the city of Drala.
I look for a nearby soda dispenser, and lo and behold, there's one a short distance to my left, near some potted plants. I take out a few coins that I had hidden in the pockets of my graduation robes and buy a can of Blue Santra. I lean against the outer wall of the dome and let the cold fluid coat my esophagus. The next half hour passes by swiftly as I keep my back pressed against wall. I almost nod off again, but thankfully, Ean's there to save me once again.
"You know, people are usually happy when they receive an incredibly difficult-to-achieve degree from a five star university," he tells me as he approaches. "What's the matter, man?"
"I'm just tired," is what I tell him. He laughs at me for it.
"Yeah, sure. Come on, Grant, when did that ever stop you? Remember that time you spent a solid 26 hours trying to magically animate that clay figurine you made? How's this any different?"
Ean, of course, has a point. He always does. Even if his jovial attitude might indicate otherwise, he's anything but an airhead.
"...I guess I'm just not sure where to go from here."
"What do you mean?"
"Applied magiscience covers a lot of ground. I could be anything from a machinist, to a physicist, to a medical researcher like you plan to be."
"Aaah," Ean says, leaning against the wall next to me. "If you ask me, you're thinking about this too hard. Apply your brain where it counts, man. Don't waste it on things that'll just get you worked up."
"You're right. But that doesn't really solve my problem. Even if I somehow manage to force myself to relax, I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life."
Ean rolls his eyes at me. I have to say I feel a little guilty for being such a pill right now. I'm normally much more reserved and calm than this. I'd even go so far as tall my demeanor professional. How ironic that the man who's the very opposite of professional has to remind me of that.
"Grant," he says as he puts his hands in his pockets. "Why do you think I chose to pursue medicine instead of, say, conjuration?"
"I always assumed you just picked a number at random and went with whatever field of magiscience corresponded with it."
"Well, that did happen, but that's not my point. I was just fooling when I did that. In the end, I decided to pursue the field of medical research because it's what I'm best at. What are you best at?"
I shrug. "I have no idea."
Ean sighs heavily, though not disrespectfully. He puts his thumb to his chin and waits around for a bit before finally getting back to me.
"I chose this path for a lot of reasons, Grant. Partially because I want to help people, and I generally think I'm needed. But I also wouldn't have come to this decision if I didn't also think it would lead to success. So long as the career path you take leads to success, you'll have no regrets. I'm sure of it."
And with that, Ean manages to purge me of all my worries. I've been hung up on a questions like "where will I be most useful?" I didn't actually think about actually forging a career that will make me happy.
"Thanks, Ean. I hope to be as driven as you someday."
"No problem, man. You'll get there. You just gotta learn how to stop stressing out about every little thing first."
"I don't think that's going to change anytime soon."
Ean yawns in wide-mouthed sort of way that makes me want to yawn along with him. However, I've already let out about sixteen yawns in the past 3 minutes, so my body decides to pass on it. Speaking of which...
"I'm going home," I tell Ean. "I need to get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow morning."
"Alright. Take it easy, man," he says as he reaches in his pockets for what I assume to be coins for the soda machine. I walk onto one of the transport discs near the edge of the platform, and it promptly asks me where I would like to go.
"Your destination, Mr. Kattler?"
"To my apartment, please."
Without another word, the runed, metallic disc takes off into the air and guides me through the maze of buildings and platforms. I watch as other people, pass me by on their own discs, on their way to work, or school, or home, or wherever they plan to go. Regardless of their destination, we all end up in the same place in spirit. We all work to benefit the pursuit of magical and scientific study, either directly or indirectly. As the most advanced nation in the world, that's our responsibility. Our way of life.
I pass by a family of foreigners on a nearby balcony. A tourguide of some sort stands beside them as they hold the marvels of the city.
"Welcome to Drala," the guide says to them. "I do hope you enjoy your stay."