An open letter to the Batch of 2020

Dear Class of 2020,

Congratulations on your graduation!

I know you have heard this a lot and will probably continue to hear this until you find closure. I know you probably don’t want to hear this anymore but people will sympathize or call you “COVID Batch”, but they won’t get it, they’ll never get. They say we all are in this together; but are they? I know it because I can relate. Yes, I graduated this year.  Yes, I belong to COVID Batch. 

I can definitely relate to those dreams, plans, and excitement. This was supposed to be our starting point. This was supposed to be our year. We didn’t see it coming, nobody did though. But can we blame anyone? (I know one country, but let's not go there). Should we blame our destiny, our fate, or maybe ourselves? No, we shouldn’t. People say that you are the batch, that will be an example for generations, little do they know, that’s not the example we wanted to set out in the world. Coming down to being strong and tough and whatnot, you don’t have to be; believe me, the celebrities calling us the strongest or toughest batch is not an optimist tag one can give to anyone. It is okay to be weak. It is okay to break down. It is okay to be not okay. You can be upset; you can cry as much as you want. 

The worst part about this is to see the opportunity which once was inscribed with your name, going away. The job role, the new school/college, the new passion, the new dream, gone within a fraction of seconds. Just gone. It is painful and hurts and it hurts bad. Believe me, there will be days where you’ll be a lost cause, and some days you’ll be a knight, determined to find your way out. It comes and goes.

Maybe the rest of the world isn’t with you, they might not even know what is going on with you, but the best part is, that you have your batchmates, your friends and those guys whom you never had a connection with and even your nemesis along with you. The topper of the batch, at some point, can relate to the last bencher. The extrovert cheerleader is sitting calmly or rather quietly, on her front porch with her pom-poms by her side. The captain of the football team sheds a tear or two seeing all the trophies. The to be banker has probably kept his offer letter sealed in a dark blue document folder. All the opportunities came to a halt, but the one thing you are deeply saddened about, the one thing that you most crave about is your farewell, your graduation ceremony, and your convocation. A Proper goodbye. You need that. We all need that closure and we didn’t get. You need that time to shed tears of joy, pain, and excitement, all together with your pals. But you know what, this situation has made you all come together, has made you stronger altogether, has made you felt that you are not alone in this.

You are a champion, don’t settle for less. Don’t be ashamed of your tag, you know what you are. You are the Shakespeare of the batch 2020, you are the Zuckerberg of the batch 2020, you are the Jobs of the batch 2020, you are the Obama of the batch 2020, you are the Newton of 2020, for anyone's sake, define your own gravity. You are the real rockstars out there. Don’t let anyone tell you what to be. You didn't come this far to only come this far.

Try. Try your heart out. Try again. Try again and again. You know you can do it; Hell! I know you can do it. You are a survivor, a genius, an example.

With Love,

A 2020 Graduate.