Graduation Actualization

Last week, I was busy with preparations for our school's upcoming graduation ceremony. Well, Friday was the big day, so let me catch you up on all the happenings.

Friday morning was a blur. My youngest and I left home early, grabbed a huge bunch of blue and white balloons from the party store, and headed over to school. Our primary assignment was to decorate the gym, where the ceremony would be held. But before we could begin decorating, there were a few more banners to make. 

We had already put the finishing touches on the banner that listed out the first names of the thirty-seven graduating seniors; now we put together a matching sign that read "Class of 2012," to hang on the front of the stage, and a blue-on-white "Congratulations" banner to display outdoors.

We also painted a few more pages of geometric shapes to use for our pennant project. Our first batch looked like this:

And here are the additional pieces we made on Friday morning, just to be sure we had enough for our grand vision:

Now I'll fast forward through all the side stories that involve locked doors, missing ladders, tying knots, empty staple guns, McDonald's ice cream cones, Ranger in the car, and trips up and down I-5 to gather up all the members of the family for this gala event. 

Instead, I'll just show you how it all turned out.

It's not an easy task to transform a tired old gymnasium into a celebration space worthy of these graduates' achievements. With some paper, paint, balloons, and glitter, we did what we could. 

But the shining stars of the night were our remarkable students. We honored them not just as a graduating class, but as individuals. 

We watched them one by one climb onto that stage and hug their parents. 

We drank in a student-created video that highlighted each graduate by showing 15 or 20 photographs from their family collections, revealing highlights from their life from birth to the present day. #passthekleenex

We listened to their plans for next year, for college or military service or work or slowing down for a while just to listen to their lives and see what might be whispered to them. 

Because these students are not just marching down a cookie-cutter path. They are unique, determined, entrepreneurial young adults who have taken charge of their own educations and are not just following their dreams but actually making them come true. 

I am so proud of each and every one of them.

And then we hugged each other a whole bunch, ate cheesecake and went home to sleep in our warm little beds. 

P.S. These cupcakes were served not at graduation, but at one of my student's graduation party the next day. Lovely.