The graduation stage is filled with cheering families, cameras flashing, and students celebrating the end of one chapter. For many high school seniors, graduation is supposed to be a celebration of everything they have accomplished. But for students preparing to leave Colombia for university, that moment can also mark the beginning of something uncertain. Behind the excitement of studying abroad are questions about leaving family, making new friends, becoming independent, and figuring out the future.
For Mar Jaramillo, a senior at TCS, the reality of leaving home became clear when she began researching universities. “At first, it felt like something far away, but then I understood that I would actually have to leave my family and my friends.” What once seemed distant suddenly became a real decision involving the people and life she knows best.
As the move becomes more real, Mar says those feelings also change the way she sees graduation. “Sometimes it feels like graduation is coming too fast, and I am not completely ready for such a big change.” Her experience shows that graduating can be emotional when it means leaving behind a familiar routine.
Along with feeling that graduation is arriving quickly, Mar is also thinking about what she will have to face once she leaves.
“I think I am most nervous about being away from my family and having to do things on my own.”
Although independence is part of the opportunity, it can also be one of the hardest parts of starting university far from home.
Mar’s concerns about independence are shared by Elena Ramos, a senior at TCS, who has also experienced living away from Colombia. For Elena, the move became real when she started thinking seriously about university.
“I’ll be starting a completely new chapter of my life on my own, and that’s when it really became real to me.”
Both students describe a similar moment: the future stops feeling distant and starts becoming an actual part of their lives.
Once Elena realized she would be beginning a new chapter alone, graduation became more than simply finishing high school.
“Graduation now feels like the end of one stage of my life and the beginning of another.”
Instead of being only a final celebration, graduation becomes a transition between the life students have known and the one they are about to create.
That new beginning also brings uncertainty about the people and environment they will encounter. “I’m also a little nervous about adapting to a new environment,” Elena explains, “making new friends, and figuring everything out on my own.” Her concerns extend beyond missing home, showing how much students must adjust when they move to another country.
Beyond these practical worries, Elena describes a deeper emotional challenge that comes with leaving home. “I think the hardest part is balancing excitement with sadness.” This feeling connects both students: studying abroad represents new opportunities, but those opportunities come with the difficult reality of saying goodbye.
For students preparing to leave Colombia, the future can feel exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Mar sees university as a chance to discover herself and become more independent, while Elena recognizes how difficult it can be to leave behind the people and life she knows. As Elena puts it, “I think the hardest part is balancing excitement with sadness.”