Planning Your Future

Everything Changes (Part 3)

May 20, 1994

Veronica's POV

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow is our graduation and I'm starting to get a little nervous. My dad sent me a letter saying graduation is the start of the rest of my life. Which as cheesy as that is, it's true. Especially considering I've got the band.

Owen is even more nervous than I am. His finals drove him out of his mind. He got an A on all of them, of course. Sam's graduation is next week. He's the opposite of Owen. He got good grades but he was very calm about the whole thing. Erika and I helped the both of them study. JD would have helped if he weren't stressing about his finals and busy studying with Eva. Mine were pretty easy.

Well I have a concert on the eve of my graduation. Time to have one last show before I walk across that stage tomorrow afternoon.

Sincerely,

Veronica

I set my diary down. I look at myself in the mirror, making sure I look okay. "Veronica, stop looking at yourself. You look fine. You're gonna do great tonight." Erika practically pushes me out the door. We meet up with Kyle, who's having to force JD out of their dorm. "Come on man! Finals are over. Worry about this concert." He tells him. "Fine." JD sighs. "Don't worry JD, you're going to crush it! You both are." Erika says. "Yeah we will. Just like you crushed your finals." I pat him on the back.

We meet Owen and Sam at the theater. "Okay. I say we start with Somebody. Then we move into the older songs." I suggest. Everyone agrees. "Owen you ready?" I ask. He looks stressed. "Yeah. Just nervous to play after all my finals." He explains. "Okay. But you got this. You're the best drummer I know." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Thanks Veronica. Let's do this." He smiles.

"And now, make some noise for Edge of Great!" The announcer says. We walk out and take our places. "Thank you. This song is called Somebody." I start the song by myself before JD and Sam sing backup for the chorus. The audience claps when we're done. We sing our older songs, some people sing with us. As I hear people sing along, I can't help but smile. People know our songs. They like them enough to learn the words. We end with Stand Tall. Some people yell the words loudly. It makes me proud of the lyrics JD and I wrote. "Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight. It just so happens that this concert is happening the night before JD, Owen, and I graduate from Harvard-" People cheer when I say that. "Thank you, thank you. Which means that after graduation, you guys are our job full time. Performing was never my plan in life. But now it's mine, and everyone in this band's reality." I say.

The audience continues to cheer as we leave the stage. "Great speech." Miles smiles as he meets us backstage. Alyssa is right next to him. "You did great." She hugs me. "Thanks Alyssa." I smile into her shoulder.

The six of us go out for drinks. "Here's to another successful show and to three soon-to-be Harvard graduates." Miles toasts. We tap our drinks against each other's. "And did you hear them singing along? We've got songs people like to sing!" Sam says. "I know. I couldn't stop smiling." I can't stop smiling even now.

All of us head home, preparing for the next morning. When I wake up, Erika and I get ready together. She puts a cassette in her cassette player so we had music while we get ready. "Can you believe we're going to be college graduates in a few hours?" She squeals. "Yeah it's crazy. Once we're done, we go and meet up with JD and Kyle. Owen has just joined them when we get there.

We all have to get lined up in alphabetical order. Kyle is 2 seats away from me so we talk while we wait. Then we're brought out to where we're seated. I know Alyssa got to come but I don't know if my dad was able to make it. He wasn't sure if his work was going to let him. The Dean speaks and then some of the highest performing students speak. I'm glad I don't have to make a speech like in high school. When they start calling names, the first name I know is JD. I smile as he crosses the stage. He worked so hard to get here. Next name I know is Erika. She has the biggest smile I've seen from her. She's going to be great when she inevitably stars in a Broadway show. Next is Owen. He smiles but I can see how nervous he looks. When it's my name that's called, I walk across the stage, taking my diploma. I did it. I actually did it. I'm officially a Harvard graduate. I bring my focus back to hear Kyle's name called.

There's more speaking and then they announce the class of 1994. We then toss our caps. I meet everyone out front and see Alyssa talking to my dad. "Dad you made it!" I hug him. "Of course I did, Ronnie. I wouldn't miss your graduation for the world." He squeezes me tight. Alyssa kisses my cheek once I make my way to her. "Hey. Congrats." She hugs me too. "Thanks babe." I whisper. "You're welcome." She smiles.

We all go out to dinner, enjoying each other's company. My dad goes back to his hotel since he has an early flight in the morning. Alyssa and I had been looking for apartments for about a month so we start to pack up my stuff to move into our new place. "I can't wait for you to see the new place." I tell Erika. "I can't wait to see it." She smiles and hugs me as she helps us pack. The next morning, JD helps us load my stuff into my car and his. We drive to the apartment and I unlock the door. "Wow. This place is nice." He says. "Yeah. We love it." Alyssa puts her arm around my waist and pulls me close.

May 22, 1994

Dear Diary,

Alyssa and I finally got all of our stuff into our new apartment. We cracked open a bottle of wine to celebrate. This apartment is so nice and it's where I get to live with Alyssa. And I get to make music with my best friend here and in the studio.

These past four years have been so strange but filled with self discovery. I started at Harvard so differently than how I left it. I'm now with someone I love who I never thought I could love. And JD and I, despite deciding we're better as friends, couldn't be closer. And I met Owen and Sam.

I'm excited to continue my life with these people. I love them and can't wait to make music with the band and wake up next to Alyssa.

Sincerely,

Veronica

Aaaaand... that's it. I hope you guys enjoyed. The new book will be out within an hour of releasing this. It's called Life Can Be Beautiful. Bye!