Just When You Thought You Were Done

Just When You Thought You Were Done

Planning big events takes a lot of extra time and effort, and it feels so good to be finished. Maybe it is a campaign, a workshop, a dinner, or a trip. All of these would probably hold true to the opening sentence. When it is completed you think that it is all over. All that preparation and planning has come to an end. Now you can rest and move on…so you think.

This weekend is a great weekend. One filled with bittersweet feelings. For the graduates, twelve years (plus Kindergarten and/or preschool) of education comes to an end. All the hard work, socializing, playing sports, frustration, procrastination, school lunches, and routine, as you they know it, comes to an end. You will most likely miss high school, as it starts out slow your freshman year, but by the time your senior year comes around, it seems to end very quickly. You are probably a bit sad, though you are glad to be done. Parents reminisce of memories when these graduates were too small to go to school. They now have to let their “birds” start to fly a bit. Even if they are staying close to home, there is a sense of flight that comes with the territory.

I still remember what it was like to walk across the stage and feel that awesome “completion” sensation! It seemed like so much had passed in my life, but that was simply the beginning. I am sure that most of you who have completed various levels of education have felt similar feelings and can remember those moments of relief when you were finished. However, you also know that much more came after the diploma. Your learning and life-tests never stopped, though you were out of the formal classroom.

Regardless of whether you are an Eagle alum, a Viking alum, a Plainsmen alum, or a Trojan alum, you may think you are finished because you walked across a stage, but you are just getting started with the future. The future is much of what you make of it, determined by the choices you make. However, regardless of how many years of formal education you may have under your belt, the classroom whose teacher is Experience, never holds a graduation ceremony. So, just when you thought you were done, there is much more to look forward to in the future!

Go get ‘em, graduates!