It's that time of year again. High school seniors are posting their final senior pictures, their sappy "I can't believe its almost over" posts, and their countdowns until graduation. They're experiencing many of their "lasts." Last week of school, last turkey tetrazzini day in the cafeteria, last baseball game they'll pitch at, the list goes on and on. And for many, it's sad. It's sad for the seniors who are leaving, and their younger friends who are stuck watching them go.
It's sad because they're leaving behind a chapter of their lives. It's sad because they'll never have their favorite teacher in class again. It's sad because they're not sure if the friends that they've held so dear for so long will still be in their lives a year from now. If you are a high school senior, and there's a part of you that is sad, believe me when I say I understand.
It's perfectly normal and okay to be sad because of so many different worries going through your head about the future. But let me warn you-high school graduation sadness pales in comparison to the sadness that can be felt during college graduations.
When people graduate high school, there is always your hometown for them to come home to. You may think that you'll never see them again, but you will. If they're truly your friend, and you both want to see each other again, then you will. You'll see them on holidays, over the summer, and random weekends when you're both in town. It's not as often as when you're in high school, but it'll be more often than you're probably thinking it will be.
College graduation is different.
College graduation is honestly one of the hardest things to accept.
No matter if both of you or just one of you is graduating, the fact of the matter is that if you're going different directions in your life, you truly could never see them again. It's not like high school where you have your hometown binding you together no matter how far apart you go. You don't go back to your college for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer like you do with your hometown when you're in college. You've only got the years you both spend in college together, and that is difficult to come to terms with.
So to the high school seniors and their younger friends, I know it's a sad time. But the people who you want to stay in your life, will be in your life. And to people in college who are graduating, and who have older friends graduating, cherish the time you have left together. Because after walking across that stage, you truly never know if you'll ever see them again. And that is genuinely sad.
