Guest Blog - It's Not Easy Being Green by Dog Walker

This has been the most amazing moment of a ceremony that I've ever had in my life or for anybody else, because my wife, my parents, my younger sisters and I went to the graduation ceremony that was supposed to take place in May, but ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, it had been postponed to August. I was really upset about it when Utah Valley University and many other colleges throughout the country had to be closed up ever since the pandemic started. Ever since that time was announced of the postponement, I assumed that I could never have graduated without receiving my bachelors degree in university studies. On the contrary, Mom kept telling me that I still graduated, even though there wasn't a ceremony at the time to attend.

It had been a long time ever since, but then the day had come for me to wear my cap and gown and go to the ceremony. This time, instead of having to sit by a lot of graduates and listen to boring speeches from the college faculty members, this ceremony turned out to be an entertaining event for people of all ages. There were graduates in their cap and gowns driving in their cars decorated as a graduation parade and then coming out to get their picture taken and be greeted with respect and support. At first, since the pandemic is still going on, I thought I had to wear a mask, but then, they gave me a UVU mask that was really green and light. Mom was hoping she could get one of those. And I also got the diploma cover.

After that, we were told to pull into one of the parking lots facing the school. They were setting up a concert, but a lot of graduates had to have their cars social distanced from one spot to the other. It was a really hot time and I almost thought off taking my cap and gown off just to be in my extra casual clothes, but then, I had the feeling that I should keep it on just for this whole event, because something amazing might have happened. This whole event kind of reminded me and my wife of a county fair and a drive-in. So we might as well have called this a county-fair-drive-in.

They had a little band to come perform a gig for us while we were waiting for the commencement of the commencement. It was quite a blast, because at most graduation ceremonies before, we hear the "Pomp and Circumstance" music, but this time, as doing an applause, the performers didn't just want people clapping, but they also wanted them honking their car horns. For some reason, there were some cameraman who kept on coming to me to put me up on the big screen. Mom just thought it was because a lot of the faculty are seeing how amazing I am for graduating at such a big university and especially for an autistic person. Or, I just thought it was because we were up close to the cameramen who are shooting off the shots of the event. But the biggest thing that was caught on camera was when I kissed Puppy Lover and a lot of people were cheering to see a kiss on the big screen, especially with a graduate kissing either their boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse. But that's not the only thing that has happened, after the faculty have made their personal appearances and said their speeches, they directed every graduate to stand and remain standing to represent the college that they're graduting from. I was in the University Studies group. And after congratulating the graduates, fireworks were blasted into the sky and that's when the President of the University came up to me to congratulate me along with her paparazi. I sure enjoyed celebrating that moment.

My parents, wife, and sisters have said that this was the best graduation ceremony that has ever happened and that it was better than the past ceremonies. I ought to admit that it really was, so that you won't have to get bored with long speeches and you get a little bit of entertainment to watch. Whenever I heard the speeches from the faculty members during the commencement, they said that graduating from Utah Valley University is one of the biggest challenges for any college student to attend and be able to graduate from. It got me into thinking about that quote by Kermit the Frog from the Muppets, "It's Not Easy Being Green." When I heard of that phrase before in my life, I never understood how being green isn't easy, but after thinking about all these years of hard work and perseverence with attending Utah Valley University and the color theme is green, it got me thinking that it really makes sense why it's not easy being green. I had to go through a lot of time, patience, and effort to graduate with a bachelor's degree at a college like Utah Valley University. I even received a medallion for graduating Magna Cum Laude. It wasn't really the highest graduation award, but it was the best one for me, because it was showing that I'm smart about a lot of things and I can use this bachelor's degree in the future for myself and Puppy Lover. And this will be a memorable gradutation for the rest of my life and I can hardly wait to tell it to my future children.