Each year, the St. Paul Journal covers graduations in the area, culminating in the grad section found in this week’s paper.
As reporters cover the ceremonies, the graduations can become a blur, but a few things stand out in each ceremony – the smiling faces of students dressed to the nines, the look of pride in their parents’ faces, and that final handshake they receive as they receive their diplomas and cross the stage, their tassels passing from one side of the mortarboard to another.
Graduation marks the end of 13 years of education for some, and for others, it is only another step in a path of further education or training. But for all of them, this ceremony marks the passage from childhood to adulthood, underscored by the slideshow presentations that show students evolving from chubby babies, to smiling, gap-toothed children, to the tall and confident young men and women they are today.
Facing the future for some of these young adults may be intimidating, but the pages of those yet-unwritten chapters are blank and fresh, appealing in their possibilities – anything is doable and anything you dream is within your reach, if you have the courage and conviction to pursue it.
Go forward boldly and write your own story. Good luck and good wishes to all our 2015 graduates.
