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THE ENGLISH SCHOOL MA GA ZINE 2020

A DIFFERENT TYPE OF GRADUATION

Marita Anastasi ESL16
I HAVE NEVER BEEN PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT GRADUATIONS. BACK
IN 2016 WHEN MY YEAR GROUP WAS WAVING THE ENGLISH SCHOOL
GOODBYE I FELT MOSTLY A SENSE OF RELIEF. EVEN WHEN OUR A LEVEL
RESULTS CAME OUT, THE SENSE OF PRIDE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT RELATED
TO GRADUATION BECAME APPARENT TO ME MANY MONTHS LATER.
I had a similar feeling for my university it is really hard for students to think beyond
graduation. To be completely honest I was ourselves. But even in an environment as THIS MAY SOUND STRANGE,
barely eager to attend the ceremony to begin competitive as that of our school, there is BUT I FEEL LUCKY. WE ARE
with. That was the case not so much because always a much broader collective picture. EXPERIENCING A PANDEMIC,
I wasn’t proud of myself for graduating but Even if it’s hard to picture, there are always AND THERE IS NOWHERE ANY
because this massive ceremony wouldn’t people who are there for us.
come close at all to the numerous remarkable No matter how hard we study or how OF US CAN GO IN ORDER TO
moments of pride I had experienced during many books we read or how many notes we GET AWAY FROM IT.
my college years. The true memories I will take, there will always be things we cannot
treasure and hold dearly for the years to come predict and things we will not know exactly. Maria Nectaria Antoniou ESL12
are much more subtle yet authentic; my first What does it mean for us as students (and I’m currently a trainee lawyer at the
day at my job as a barista for our university’s recent graduates) to be ready to be in a Cyprus Attorney-General’s Office. I missed
student lead coffee shop, the day I joined the state of not knowing? How do we apply the four weeks of court appearances due to
History department, when I finally declared skills we have learnt in class in a way that COVID-19, which was a shame, as that’s
Dance as my second major, the numerous allows us to navigate a state of not knowing? something I enjoy – I remember the last days
performances, trips and classes I shared with Being in a state of not knowing, doesn’t I went to court before the closures, freezing,
my friends at the Dance Department whom I necessarily mean not being productive or since every judge kept their windows open to
now call family. These were the moments that progressive. In fact, accepting that there are shoo the virus away… After that, us trainees
mattered. My hard work and effort were things I don’t know and cannot control has got our study leave to prepare for the Bar
recognised not just by letter grades or scores helped me stay engaged with my work. As a exam, so we would be staying home in any
that I received at the end of every semester double major in History and Dance, quarantine case. Unlike so many other students and
but by true generosity, support and praise for has put me in a difficult position. My first paid professionals (I count myself as neither and
the people around me. Within the community dance show was cancelled and for the both), I didn’t miss anything due to the virus.
of people I created for myself I was celebrated foreseeable future I can barely practice dance And when I think about what I may have
and acknowledged for my true worth every day. in conventional ways. However, this situation missed had this happened last year, again,
Looking back at my years at The English has given me the opportunity to process how I count myself one of the lucky ones. Last
School there are simply countless parallels my dance and history work apply in my everyday year, I was in Boston, on the Harvard LLM;
to my university experience. The memories life outside the studio and the classroom. I would have missed half my time in
and experiences that shaped me while at Without my analytical skills from my history America; spring break in Puerto Rico where
The English School have almost nothing to degree I wouldn’t have been able to process I did volunteer legal work with other law
do with the specific day of our graduation what’s happening around me, without my students; my sister’s graduation in London;
per se or the prizes and honors we received dance improvisational skills my rapid decision a friend’s engagement in Beirut; working
on that particular occasion. What has stayed making would not have been as effective. as an archaeologist again for three weeks
with me are the relationships that flourished I graduated in May, and unlike my on an expedition to Iraqi Kurdistan.
during the 7 years I spent in the school. First graduation back in 2016, this time around I But these musings also make me realise
and foremost friendships that have so far really don’t know what the future holds. how easy it is to be deprived of the chance
survived the test of time, the guidance I And it’s ok. Being in a state of not knowing to do so many of the things that make us the
received from so many teachers and most means to be flexible and adjustable. I have people we want to be. It takes worldwide
importantly the sense of community. been fortunate to have had some excellent border closures to realise how our lives
Probably the biggest takeaway from education not in terms of grades and are no longer contained in one country.
COVID-19 for me, was the reaffirmation of diplomas I have received over the years, but Nowadays, a lot of us travel not as a luxury university graduates
how important community is. Trust and in terms of mentorship. Choosing people but because pieces of our lives are all over.
comradeship have played a crucial role on how who could offer me honest yet thoughtful One of the reasons I studied archaeology
we are handling this situation, on a political, feedback and who stood by my choices and after law was because I loved to travel, and
societal and personal level. This thought keeps led me through my mistakes has been my law is usually a distinctly country-specific
taking me back to our school motto ‘non sibi biggest achievement as a student. It is this profession. But I’m sure that getting into
sed scholae’; not for the student but for the mentorship that has allowed for me to the master’s degree at Oxford without an
school. I truly wish that our motto was more comfortably exist in a state of not knowing, undergraduate degree in archaeology had
apparent to me while still at The English School. ready to face any crazy pandemic, or any something to do with having graduated with
Sometimes, in the midst of stressing out other hardship for that matter. a degree in law from Cambridge. And then
about grades, exams and overall performance when I went to the US to study amongst 15
experienced legal professionals, they were
most impressed by my work in archaeology.
And I think that’s because our world has
graduated from being alienated by what’s
different to being fascinated by it. That, I
think, is what has helped me get where I am:
people and institutions have given me
chances because I came from different
experiences than they had. And it’s a shame
and a shock to realise how little it takes for
entire parts of our lives, or dreams, to be
cut off from us.
But, like I said, for now, I feel lucky.