Summa Cum Laude

Yesterday I attended the commencement ceremonies for Westfield High School, my niece was graduating and as I sat in the stands packed with our family and the families of others my mind began to zone out.  I couldnt help but to get a little nostalgic while entertaining all of the posibilities that lay before these soon to be High School Graduates.  How big of a moment was this for them, graduating from high school marks the end of a long grade school journey and it signifies the beginning of the rest of your life.  Many of us don’t come to understand this fact until it’s far too late to change course but the decisions you make in those first few years out of high school will serve to shape the rest of your life.  What a wonderful burden that is, to forever exist in the gravity of decisions made at the tender age of 17 or 18.  To say you are not prepared is a complete understatement but this is life and you have to decide pretty early if you are going to be among the many or the few.  

Today my mother, sister and I had a conversation about what a great platform you are on as a new high school graduate, all the endless roads and avenues you have to choose from and how each one has their own set of consequences.  Its like once you pick a certain path you pretty much have to ride it out, you never know when an exit will present itself and when it does you don’t even know where that exit will take you, you just have to weigh your options and go for it. I likened this moment to a test and as with any test it is composed of questions and answers, the only difference is that with this test wrong answers have dire consequences.  Oh and the test... its only like ten questions long so you don’t have the luxury of getting three or four wrong answers and knowing that you can still pass.  Nope, two wrong answers and you’re already living a "B" lifestyle, three wrong answers and you’re approaching loser status... Yep, life is tough and it starts pretty early but the cool thing about it is that you have the opportunity to live out your dreams or create your own nightmares and it all starts with graduation. 

Congratulations "T" I'm proud of you and good luck...