Congratulations Class of 2023!
Sasha Bush
Ashland Beacon
Graduation day is easily one of life’s most important and eagerly anticipated moments in our lives. It’s more than just a ceremony and goes well beyond putting that cap and gown on, hearing your name called, making that walk across the stage and being handed that diploma with your name on it. Graduation day is a celebration of the ending of one chapter of one’s life and the beginning of another. Graduation is often referred to as the “commencement ceremony.” When we think of commencement, we often think of the ending of something. However, the word commencement means the beginning. So, graduation day is of course a day to celebrate all that you have accomplished these past thirteen years, but the real purpose is to celebrate and mark your transitioning from the child you began this journey as thirteen years ago to the adult you are today and the journey you are about to embark upon.
Thirteen years have come and gone. Thirteen years of so many firsts—your first day of school, dance, sport, love, heartbreak, driving a car, job, prom and so many other “firsts” that it would be impossible to list them all. For thirteen years, you have been taught the scholarly things needed to take you into your next chapters of life. You have experienced the ups and downs of childhood and becoming a teenager. For thirteen years, you have been told what to do, when it’s due and how you should go about doing it. You have experienced life as a child and taken in all that goes with it, which has shaped you into the person you are today. Thirteen years ago, it was you who was crying in that classroom as Mom and Dad left you in that strange place for the first time. Today, it’s Mom and Dad crying because you’re all grown up and ready to face life in a whole new way… as an adult building a life on his/her own, one decision at a time.
Everything that led up to this moment wasn’t about getting that piece of paper with your name on it or tossing that cap high in the air. It goes well beyond that. Today is about you and all your hard work that you have done to reach this point. It wasn’t easy, and at times I’m sure you felt like you were failing…but you didn’t. Today is about the celebration of you finding out exactly who you are, which is no easy feat, and you will continue to learn new things about yourself every day. Today is about spreading your wings and taking flight. You already know how to fly. You’ve spent the last thirteen years being taught how. But, today is a time to fly solo and see where the wind takes you.
This journey we call life is many things. It can be both exhilarating and stressful. Life shares many resemblances with the wind. The wind is a strong force and can change direction at any time. It can be calm one minute and quite violent the next, throwing us into an entirely different direction than we intended to take… much like life. So, today when you step off that stage as a graduate… spread your wings… take flight… remember all that you have learned, all that you have experienced and hold you head up high. Spread your wings, and let the wind pick you up and sail you into your next chapter of life. Congratulations to all of you who have accomplished so much in such a short period of time. Now, go out into the world and leave it a better place than you found it. Take what you have been taught and make it your own. Never be afraid to fly solo because those who fly solo have the strongest wings. Never be afraid to be that “solo flying hat.”
