No guarantees

With graduation about two months away, the seniors are justifiably nervous about going down from the hill and confronting the real world. Like generations before them, they feel that they hadn't learned enough, that they aren't prepared or equipped for life outside of an academic setting. Some feel as if they are being loaded onto a trebuchet and launched screaming into enemy territory.

When I was Chair, I used to tell the seniors to "be not afraid". They came to us the best of the best. They continued to be the best of the best. However, the reassurance falls on deaf ears. Nothing you say and nothing you've done is ever enough to convince them that they will be fine. No guarantee (and there are no guarantees) will chase their insecurities away. There's no real answer to one's fears--not one from outside anyway. Ultimately, the you have to confront your fears and defeat them yourself.