I was in a department store this weekend and noticed all the graduation cards. I realized that another year of school was coming to a close. Students are graduating again. We, too, are getting ready for our own virtual graduation ceremony at SVSF Center. It is a time to reflect upon our accomplishments and dreams.
I have had the opportunity to visit briefly with some of our GED graduates. They are all so excited about the ceremony!! And rightly so—they have accomplished a great feat!! It requires a celebration.
Recalling my own days of school and graduation, I thought it would never come and then it came too fast. Some classes I enjoyed tremendously and some others I would think about only if I was having a hard time falling asleep. (I always said I passed Algebra with a D when the teacher was feeling good!) But most classes were enjoyable and thought provoking. It was a time to read Shakespeare and Tennyson. Politics were strong and divisive, and there were economic problems then, too. I remember a lot of class debates and discussion. And, of course, I thought I had all the answers!
But graduation is more than an accomplishment—it is opening up dreams to the future. From the day of graduation, the sky is the limit to what we can do. As someone once said, “Never let it be said that to dream is a waste of time, for dreams are our realities in waiting. In dreams we plant the seeds of our future.”
Commencement means ‘a beginning; it is a starting point’. The diploma or certificate the graduate receives is a ticket to change the world. We never want to think we have finished our education; because that would mean we have stopped growing. My mother is ninety-five years old and a common phrase of hers is always: “Why, I never knew that!” She still gets excited about learning something new- however trivial!
I am eager for our Graduation Ceremony on May 22! Not only to celebrate the accomplishments of our GED students, but also (and in fact, more importantly) to celebrate what they are and what they will continue to accomplish in life. Life is always risky and the road to success is always under construction, but if dreams are able to be dreamed, they are able to be made real!
