The orchestra quiets, and the ceremony has begun. Speeches are given. All very inspiring; explaining that the light brought by the high school class of 2011 is brighter than a star in the night sky. That in their hands is a chisel and a hammer, and their rock is right in front of them, and they are to start chipping away the pieces to create their masterpiece. The vast achievements of the graduating class are read aloud. Two perfect ACT scores. Dozens of impressive championships won, scholarships earned, and futures ahead of the students soon to receive their diplomas. Names have begun to be read. My dad and I time that each column of names in the program takes almost five minutes. Seventeen columns of names. Only an hour and forty five minutes to go. As the names are read, I begin to realize all of the people I will be losing. I am aware that it's not my own class graduating, so I shouldn't really be that sad. However, I never realized how many people of the graduating class have touched my life in one way or another.
The boy that helped me find my way the first day of my freshman year. The girl who made me feel welcome into marching band when I didn't know many people. That senior who explained to me what to do in photography class when I had never developed a roll of film in my life. That crazy girl who my sister would always share hilarious stories about at the dinner table. The brother and sister who were almost like a brother and another sister to myself since before I can remember who are at my house almost as much as I am. My sister who I've worshiped since we were young. The one whose room I always went to if there was a bad storm outside and I didn't want to be alone. The one I have pulled numerous all nighters with. The one I've looked up to as my biggest role model for so long that I don't even know what I'll do without her when she's gone.
They say that graduating from high school is a life altering event. I had always thought against this. In today's world, not many people don't graduate from high school. My school's graduation rate is somewhere around 98%. Graduation was just a ceremony in which your name was read, you walk across a stage, get a piece of paper with your name on it, and that's it. It took until my sister's graduation last night to realize it's so much more. It's the last time a lot of these teenagers will ever see each other ever again. The end of the only life they have ever known, to begin an existence in which every thought isn't consumed by what will make your college application look best. Where you sit in the lunch room. Or what people will think of you as you walk down the hallway. Some say that they just can't wait to get out of high school. They're ready to move onto the next chapter of their lives without taking a moment to look back. However, we all know that there will come a day when all that walked across that stage last night will look back and miss the days of high school.
It's necessary to move on, and after four years, most of these teenagers are more than willing to. But I can't help but feel sad and scared of all that will be lost after last night. The girls that have been best friends since preschool days that will never see each other again. The boys that played football together all the way from grade school through high school that will end up playing on rival teams and hating each other. The girlfriend and boyfriend who swore to each other that going to separate colleges won't shake their four year relationship that will realize that long distance doesn't work for anyone. Everyone's lives have been going in the same way for so long, and now all of a sudden it's time to shoot off into completely different directions. But then, when I look forward towards the future, thinking of what will become of this graduating class, all of that sadness goes away. All of the doctors that will come from this group. Maybe the one that will cure cancer. Maybe the one that will find an alternative energy source. Maybe an writer that will become the next J.K. Rowling. Maybe a marine who gives his life to his country. Maybe a nurse who loves what she does. Maybe a soccer mom that will make the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. The possibilities are endless. That's what there is to look forward to, because here comes the rest of your life.
Congratulations Olivia
We All Know You'll Do Great Things
But Don't Forget What You've Done
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