like ancient bruises
i am awake and feel the achereally nervous, moreso on a subconscious level than a conscious one. it's been showing; flaws in my immune system due to stress -- i caught a cold, possible sinus infection, maybe even my sister's bronchitis from whenever ago that my dad supposedly caught. i never get sick, maybe once or twice a year. and in my sleep the other night i continually dug/scratched at my belly button until my fingernails caused painful cuts and sores. last night, i kept waking up every hour starting at 5 AM, freaking out because i thought in my half-asleep state that i was somehow late for real graduation tomorrow instead of practice, which was today.
i haven't been this deeply anxious about something... maybe ever.
there are so, so many ways it could go all wrong tomorrow. i could be missing a fee and they never caught hold of me to tell me, and i couldn't walk. somebody or their parents could decide to be cute and mess up the process somehow. i could fall and hurt myself somehow. i could wear the wrong clothes without knowing it and not be allowed to walk. someone in my family could be turned away at the door for any reason, and because it's my day, it'd be my fault. my diploma could have been misprinted or lost. my name left out of the program somehow, and they forgot about me. [this is the kind of stuff i dream about, in endless variation. all the mistakes that could happen. somehow they're always my fault.]
there really isn't a good reason for me to be so scared. it's just a ceremony. sure, it'll take hours, and i'll be dead bored and tired and might feel a bit sick. but it'll be over before i know it, right?
i try to tell myself i'm in control here. that it's my choice to be anxious. but i can't always control everything like i've learned to "turn off" the pain from whatever's wrong with my foot. some things are just out of my hands. so many, many ways it could go wrong.
here's hoping it goes well.