Bittersweet Day

Last week, I attended my niece’s graduation.  There were twenty-seven graduates and so, as is typical in a small town, the ceremony was a true celebration of each graduate’s accomplishments and each student has his or her moment in the spot light.

The event took place in the same gym where my own high school graduation was held       (more years ago than I care to think about).  As I sat watching the program, I couldn’t help but peel back the years to when it was I on that stage,  and to reflect on who I was then and who I have become.   I remember how excited and nervous we were, my classmates and I.  I also remember that unique mixture of happiness and sadness:  happiness at finishing one chapter of our lives and anxiously walking into our future, and yet sadness at leaving the people we had grown up with and with whom we had spend twelve years in a classroom.  We were a little terrified at setting out on our journey without our paretns beside us.  For all of us, the page was a clean slate and we were convinced that our lives would be exciting, successful and that we would change the world.  I don’t think we actually did change the world, at least not to the extent we envisioned, but I believe that each of us changed our little part of it and that perhaps it is a little bit better because of us.

Looking at this year’s graduates, faces flush with excitement and eyes sparkling, the girls in beautiful gowns and the guys in their suits,  I have no dobut they were feeling the same emotions my classmates felt so many years ago.  As each graduate was introduced and their career plans revealed, I know they felt that same happiness and sadness all wrapped up in one tight sensation.   

This is also always a bittersweet day for parents.  Nothing will be the same again.  Their children are grown up and ready to take on the world.  The relationship between parent and child begins a slow shift at this point which will continue to change and mature over the next years.  It is difficult to let go of the child they’ve protected since birth and to  release them into the world where they are no longer under their control and watchful eye. They feel pride in the young adult their child has become, yet yearn for the small child who counted on them for everything.  This is probably one of the most difficult days as parents. 

There is so much emotion on graduation day.  The graduates themselves and their families are all a little apprehensive about the future, even as they boldly make their plans and chart their course.  The students know their lives are changing and they are leaving everything that is familiar to them and going into unknown territory.  Younger siblings also feel a loss as someone who has been with them their entire lives is now leaving home.  The years of bickering are quickly forgotten as their own world is changing as well. 

I hope nothing takes away the pride and confidence of my niece and all the graduates this year.  I hope all their dreams come through.  My wish for them is that when they look back on their graduation night ten, twenty, thirty or even forty years from now, they will be content in the knowledge that they had a good life and the best of their dreams became reality.

Dreaming of your future and reflecting on your past .. .  it's a good thing!