Graduation- 2 years later

Yesterday I was able to go to the Wasatch High School graduation ceremony for the class of 2008. I dont think I've ever really written about my graduation much so I might as well do it now. This was the first time I had been to a graduation since my own graduation and as I was sitting there I couldn't help but think about how it felt like when I graduated. It is one of those experiences that you try and capture ever little occurance, like your preserving it in a bottle, so that you can remember it and relive it for the rest of your life.

I remember walking into the building with the music playing and seeing the whole crowd of families standing up and cheering as we entered. I can remember walking past all the individual teachers and shaking their hands, most of whom I had many personal experiences with. After seeing the look of happiness in their eyes and satisfaction on each of their faces, I may have not fully appreciated my teachers and advisors until that moment. At that moment you realize that all they wanted most was to see you succeed, and all their dedication and all their overtime hours were put in for you.

It is at times like this when you stop hating the school system, you stop hating the power that teachers seem to have over your life, you stop hating all the tests and quizzes and you stop hating all the times they pushed you. Really all you can do is appreciate every moment you were pushed to see how far you could excel. Then you start realizing that the whole purpose of school is to teach and to prepare. All school really is, is a set of tests and trials and experiences that teach and prepare you for life itself.

I can remember exactly where I sat and who I sat next to. As I looked around at all of the people that were around me I could remember growing up with these people. I remember picking out one or two of the most distinctive memories for each person I knew. I remember thinking about all the oppurtunities I had taken advantage of, but what hurt the most was thinking of all the oppurtunities I never got to experience. I resolved right then and there to try and take advantage of as many experiences as I possibly could, and to never live my life with any regrets.

For me graduation was not the end of something, but the very beginning of many more somethings. In many ways graduation stands not as an end but as a beginning. It was very much a transition period, I could feel the "shelter" and "protection" of the school system releasing me into a world I hadn't quite experienced yet. I needed to learn how to fly on my own and I knew things were going to start changing at an ever increasing speed and I wondered how would I be able to handle it all?

So how have I handled it all? All I can say is it's a work in progress. Only time can tell right?