Diplomas, Parties and Inspirational Speeches

Ah, high school graduation. A time of excitement and fun, sadness and unknowing. As I watched my baby sister-in-law walk across the stage of her High School graduation this past weekend, I couldn’t help but think about my high school career years ago. My senior year was probably the most fun year of the four. I only had half days the entire 2nd semester because I was in a work study program and I got extended lunch periods because I was in the “Cafeteria Kid Cop” class. (we got to walk around during one lunch period and tell kids to pick up their trash. It was a cake job, and as a reward for our job well done, we got to go off-site for the other 2 lunch periods.) As a result, I left school around 12:00 each day, went to lunch with my friends and then headed home for an afternoon siesta before going back to school at 3:00 for basketball or soccer practice. It was a pretty sweet schedule when I look back. I got a couple hours of hard work and learning, took a large afternoon break and then worked out for 2 and a half hours before coming home to an amazing home-cooked meal, ready when I walked in the door. What do I have to do to get that schedule back today?

It wasn’t a great year just because of the fantastic schedule, it was also the year that my class bonded and my group of friends expanded as we merged with other groups in our class. Without the friends from older classes to split up our groups, we turned to each other to fill the void. We may have just been acquaintances those first 3 years, but senior year united us and made it a fantastic year of fun times. About 20 of us decided we’d spend the last few weeks of HS playing Assassins. If you’re not familiar with the game, it is pretty much spectacular: each person picks a name out of a hat and that name is the person you have to hunt down and shoot with your nerf gun. Once you’ve successfully assassinated your target, you get to take the name they’ve drawn as your next target. I don’t remember who won, or who got me out, but I do remember hiding in bushes and around corners to sneak-attack my targets. We didn’t leave the house without our gun and were always on the defensive for fear a sharp-shooter was lurking nearby.

So, I say to all those high school graduates out there: enjoy your final summer before college; before your friends scatter to different cities and it gets harder to keep in touch, before you realize that college isn’t all about parties and fun; before you live off Ramen and Spaghetti O’s; before you have to take complete responsibility for your actions, ALL your actions. Before you jump into the next chapter of your life, take a moment to reflect on the years you’ve surpassed and take a deep breath and enjoy what you’re doing right now. Because no matter how exciting the next few years will be for you, you just can’t beat running around with a nerf gun, stalking your friends trying to get the next kill.