Graduation is not a normal event. I thought it would be, that it wouldn't be any different, but it had everything. Uniform changes, rain, delays, unforeseen events, problems, and above all, stress.
First of all, my uniform had been changed at the dry cleaners, so I had to contact the group on Whatsapp to retrieve my uniform on the same day of graduation. However, I was able to find the person who had been given my uniform and who had been given mine.
How curious that on the day of my graduation, I didn't want photos or feel that excited! It was wonderful to see how far I had come, but at the same time, it was stressful.
When I went to receive the degree, my parents were standing like a pack of dogs taking pictures of me, it was all photo and photo. "Stand here with your mother, stand here with your father, and stand with your sister. And for God's sake, smile!"
While I was running to eat, after the engineering ceremony came the officer ceremony and that was two hours of standing with an empty stomach. If during the engineering protocol act my stomach rumbled with fury.
I didn't feel nervous when I went to receive the degree, nor did I feel like crying as some people did. I just went up and tried to make the greetings correctly. I didn't think that the moment had already arrived, I just wanted to eat and then go to the other ceremony. So when it was over, I rushed my family to the restaurant, skipping the photos.
I was impatient for the pizza to come out quickly, I looked at the time and saw that there were only 10 minutes left. Then, in the middle of the wait, it started raining, which abruptly stopped the officer ceremony that was taking place on the track.
Other classmates also entered the restaurant and began to fill their stomachs. A classmate reassured me when he said that the rain would give us time to eat. However, I ate in a hurry, and maybe, if I was nervous because I only ate two slices, I don't know, I was in a hurry, any justification works.
It rained, stopped, and then rained again. The weather couldn't make up its mind.
We left the restaurant an hour later than scheduled due to the rain. When we left, it started raining again and we had to wait for the authorities to decide what to do. Graduates like me wanted to keep waiting, we had two months of hard practice under the sun, for a stupid rain to cancel it. However, it seemed that the authorities were made of sugar and didn't want to get wet. Then the officer wanted to cancel the ceremony and not do it, but two months of practice couldn't be thrown away so easily. So we waited another hour of delay that was not scheduled for the graduation, but our stubbornness kept us together there on the parade ground. That's when I understood that no planning goes 100%, any unforeseen event could happen and completely change plans.
Miraculously, the sun came out amid the clouds. When we started forming up, a rainbow surrounded the sky. It was the expected signal. We were going to start the real ceremony. The previous one had only been protocol, but this one would give me the distinction of Third Officer of the Merchant Navy.
The band and flag escorts came out. The drums began to sound, and the commander's order was heard in the distance. We began to march. We are not military, but we have a disciplined spirit and tradition. We like to show off. That's what we did when we started to parade towards the authorities.
I could see euphoric parents taking photos, the same photos that I detested not long ago, but this time I wanted them to take one worthy of the ceremony. The authorities made their entrance. Some say it was eternal, but to me, compared to the practices, everything went quickly.
Don't think that the difficulties were over.
When the authorities sat down, the commander announced the ceremony and asked for permission to begin. Then, the groups showed off their skills. The national anthem also played, and after all those demonstrations, came the most interesting part: the imposition of shoulder boards.
There was no sun, the clouds were watching the ceremony. However, we were all sweating. It was the moment. The commander passed, and then the first row passed. Everything was done impeccably and in order, with that military and disciplined style. We are not military, but we like to show off, I repeat. Tradition is rooted in us.
When I finally passed, I thought that the captain I had chosen had not shown up. I thought she wouldn't appear, and I would be left without any authority to change my cadet shoulder boards to officer shoulder boards. Then she appeared, smiling and nervous as well.
"Why did you drag me into this, Garate? I don't know how to do this, I'm nervous, and these shoulder boards are a mess to put on."
I laughed instead of telling her that mine had a magic closure and were easy to put on and take off. She realized it while I kept laughing with happiness. When she put on my shoulder boards, I was still laughing.
Our turn was over, and my colleagues' turn followed. We were still in formation, but I took my moment to look at my family who had already located themselves in the representatives' and relatives' celebration. I blew a kiss to my girlfriend, who saw it, and I stayed there in formation.
The commander gave the order to change uniforms, and we ran to the designated classroom. I had to ask my family for a knife because of my poor decision to leave that for that moment of the day. I had to pierce the buttonholes and change my buttons to the Nº1 uniform. While everyone was taking off their white uniform and putting on black, my hands struggled to insert the golden buttons into the uniform. My father and a friend had to come to help me with that.
While they put on their uniforms, I put on pants and a white shirt. I quickly asked the first person I saw to help me put on the tie. When I finished, I still had problems with the buttons. I was one of the last to leave in the 30 minutes they gave us, still fighting with the buttons. "Here, use one of mine that I have left over," Mero said, giving me one of his.
It immediately went into the hole, it was the last button missing. I put it on and we went out to the honor courtyard.
It was when I realized that the name tag had fallen off one of its supports and was crooked on the uniform, in addition to being poorly placed due to the haste. The badge also had the support fallen. I solved it in the middle of the march, hoping no one would notice. Fortunately, I did and we were still out of sight of the public.
The rest doesn't need to be told. It's protocol. We marched, sang the nautical song, and finally threw our Kepis into the sky as graduates. I refrained because it could get dirty, and it was borrowed. However, after almost 10 years, I graduated as a Third Officer and Maritime Engineer, with a double degree.
The day was not over yet, the graduation party was still missing, but that story will have to wait for another opportunity.
Cover and Banner made in Canva; Author's own image taken with Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 S, Separators made in photoshop