Benjamin Braddock Complex

Yesterday I moved out of my college house. The weeks leading up to my departure were soggy, filled with random crying jags instigated by the most conventional of activities. I would take a jog around campus and suddenly be choked by sweaty sobs. A similar teary attack was experienced in a grocery store's freezer isle. It would have been reasonable to accept these snotty moments as par for the course if they were held against the backdrop of appropriate emotional occasions – i.e. last day of classes, commencement ceremonies, Senior Week activities…they weren’t though. I was buying perogies.
Even now, confront with memories of my empty bedroom, I am dry-eyed. One part of my brain says that I should view my lack of water works as progress. The other half worries that I may be lapsing into a sort of stagnant Benjamin Braddock complex. I absolutely love the movie “The Graduate.” My love used to be centered on remote facets of the film (Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack, 60’s decade nuances, sexy garters and stockings). Presently, my preoccupation with the flick has morphed into a deep personal affection for Dustin Hoffman’s character. I know that that is a very obvious statement. He plays a twenty-something college graduate. I am a twenty-something college graduate. Why wouldn’t we be buddies? Nonetheless, I can’t discredit the fact that takes a lot of skill to make a film that not only portrays a stage in life but also successfully understands it. So, get ready for a list. Since the reference is apparent, the title will be too:

TRUTHS FOUND IN THE GRADUATE

The ‘F’ Word – If I haven’t been asked it once, I have been asked it forty times:
“What are you going to do now?”
“Well, that’s a little hard to say.”
I have already made a mental note and faxed it on ice to Future Addie. The message reads: “When encountering recent college graduates, do not ask them what they are doing next. Most don’t know yet and subsequently feel like shit because they don’t have a worthwhile answer.”
Exhibit A:


Floating – In relation to the above, post-college plans have in fact been on my mind. I have also managed to misplace the momentum necessary to begin making these arrangements. My normal self-starter impulses are kaput. I am not moving forwards or backwards. I am just drifting.
Exhibit B:


Pomp and Circumstance – “The Graduate” has one of the best conclusions of all time, bar none. It illustrates an awkward letdown, a subtle exchange between two people after the hype of an event has subsided. The formal elements of college ceremonies are similar to that of a wedding – you’ve got an outfit and rituals to perform. In the midst of it all, it is easy to get caught up. You exit the stadium (or, in their case, flee from a church) out into the real world. All at once, there is a calm followed by a thought. Ben and Elaine’s face is familiar because it is my own. I’m wedged between them in the backseat of a bus, staring out into the aisle, listless and wondering “Now what?”
Exhibit C:


..Huh?
You don’t want to watch the last clip because it will spoil the ending?
Why haven’t you seen the movie yet?
It is a classic.
What are you waiting for?
Do it now.
Really.
Otherwise, you won’t get this parting reference:

……ELAAAINNEEE!!!!!!!