Graduating from high school is a really big step in life. You're going forward, towards your next stage in life, following a path only you can see. I know that for me that graduation was a big thing, and I was so excited and ready to leave high school. I'm sure there are many more out there who feel that way right now!
But I wanted to give some advice from some of us older people who have already graduated. Some are stories that will have something to it, but there is a lot of advice to be given to you guys from the people who have gone before you.
Ariel, 2016, says, "Live your last week as a high school student to your best advantage because you never know you might miss it when you're older and in college." Very sound advice, seeing as how that week seems to go by so fast. Don't let it pass in a blur! Make it something that you will be able to remember your entire life.
Hannah, 2016, said, "Seeing all my friends in their caps and gowns made it so surreal that I couldn't help but be proud for each and every one [of them] for making it through high school and taking the next big step in their lives as well as mine." We are all able to recognize the big step we're taking when we graduate, whether that be going into college or getting a full-time job right after we're out of school. But seeing our friends make it with us? One of the best things to experience, and it really does make graduating seem surreal. It's hard to keep a grasp of the memory of walking across that stage, let alone your friends, but hold onto that feeling and keep it with you as you step onto your next stone.
Derrek, 2012, said, "Don't let your nerves get to you and try to make it more about your friends as you don't know if you will see most of them after you graduate from school." Unfortunately a truth due to some of your friends taking paths that lead them far away. So if you really want to stay in their lives, that week is a great way to spend time with them. Don't let yourself get distracted by other things and also try to stay calm as you make it through our last week as a senior in high school. It can make or break you.
Heather, 1992, had this advice to give, "I graduated 25 years ago this year. I know, I'm old. I remember graduation day like it was yesterday. It was a great day. It was the first day of the rest of my life. Looking back, if I could tell myself something it would be to work hard but remember to play just as hard and to find the job/career that makes me happy regardless what it pays. Working at a job that you're miserable at only makes you and everyone around you miserable. You have one life, take the time to enjoy the roses and small things in life because they are the things that end up mattering most. Never take anyone or anything for granted and be grateful." There isn't much I can add to this, just that she's right on every level. Don't take what you have today for granted because you might not have it tomorrow.
The last memory/advice that I want to share with you is from my own experience. Five days before graduation, my grandma died. Five. Days. She had been sick for a while, slowly getting worse and worse, but that didn't make it any easier. That was one of the toughest weeks of my life, and I can honestly say that I didn't take the time to appreciate what was going on because I was so lost in my sea of grief. I broke out of it a day or two before walking across the stage, probably Friday after her funeral, but it was so hard getting up the strength to walk across. My grandma wasn't there, she wasn't able to watch me walk across like I had been hoping, praying, she would. But then I got up on that stage and I walked across, getting my diploma. I felt like she was walking with me, holding my hand and whispering how she was so proud of me. I will never, ever forget that because even if it does hurt a little bit, it's still one of the happiest moments of my life.
So my advice to you is this: be in the moment, and don't let anything that happened earlier that day or week make it hard for you to walk across that stage with your head held high. You made it through high school! Be proud of that and show it.