My niece graduated high school last week. My husband and I went to the graduation ceremony, and I was surprised at how emotional it made me. Watching her walk down the aisle to the Pomp and Circumstance, I realized how much is ahead of her.
The commencement speaker spoke of a poem called "If". He didn't know the author but I took a picture of it on my phone.
This poem really spoke to me and I hope it did to the graduates as well. When you're graduating high school, as cliche as it may sound, you have the world at your feet. You're young, excited and ready to take everything on.
We're often told to follow our dreams. And at 18, that seems easy. But as you get into the next phase in your life, so many things get in the way. Money, sickness, stress, family . . . all of these things complicate our dreams and make it seem like we will never succeed.
But this poem reminded me, it's not how fast you get there. What matters is that you believe in yourself. Life really is a battle. There are extreme highs and extreme lows. And if you're lucky and believe in yourself, you'll always find a way out of those lows.
My niece is enrolling in college in the fall, and we are so proud of her. I hope she takes these words of wisdom with her not just into next year, but for the many years to come.
And to all of our Whyville high school graduates, congratulations. This is the moment in your life where you will start to become who you will be. Grab a hold of that hope, and never let it go.
