Graduating Without the Pomp and Circumstance

For many, high school graduation is one of the most meaningful days of their life. It is a time of remembrance and an opportunity to embark onto the next chapter of your life. Admittedly, my graduation was a moment of remembrance, but not in a positive way. To keep things short, my high school graduation set the precedent for subsequent high school graduations at my school. It was the disaster that caused the administration to reevaluate and change all future plans.

Originally, my graduation ceremony was slated to be held in the school district's football stadium. The day started like any other spring day in Colorado, sunny skies with abundant enthusiasm in the air. By three o'clock, things made a rapid change for the worst. The sky darkened and unleashed rain, forcing the school district to change from plan A to plan B. The problem came in executing plan B.

All students were quickly escorted into the school's gym. Keep in mind that this gymnasium is not the gymnasium of my high school, but instead that of a rival school. With limited seating capacity, we each were allowed to have only four guests attend our graduation. Personally, this moment was one of my tensest. The only thoughts crossing my mind were please let my parents and grandparents make it into the gymnasium, please let my parents and grandparents make it into the gymnasium. For friends and family who did not make it in, they were instead escorted to the nearby auditorium where they were expected to watch the graduation ceremony on television monitors. Luckily, my parents and grandparents were not subjected to this fate. Despite feeling disappointed by the unexpected plans, the sight of my father's and grandmother's head peeking out from the crowd was able to help acquiesce some of my nerves.

By the time the actual ceremony started, it did not feel like a graduation ceremony. I felt like I was wearing a cap and gown to simply sit in another school's gymnasium. We were not even given the honor of walking to the music of pomp and circumstance. Instead, only the valedictorian and salutorians were given this. All other students remained seated. There was no walking into graduation ceremony; there was only remaining seated where we were while others had this opportunity. To add insult to injury, by the time the ceremony finally started, the skies cleared up, leaving a perfect day for a graduation ceremony.

All in all, the day was essentially ruined. Students that fought so hard to graduate from school were given a hodge-podge ceremony inside a rival high school. As I said early-on though, not all was lost. It was the disheartening circumstances of my graduation ceremony which effectively enabled positive change for future graduation ceremonies. All subsequent graduations occurred at Magness Arena at a nearby university.

For me, graduation will always be a bitter ending to my high school career. A period of my life where I achieved so much was not given the proper concluding ceremony. The best way to describe it is this, instead of given the sweet kiss I expected, I was given a swift kick in the butt, effectively leaving me with a high school graduation ceremony that I will never forget as a result of circumstances I never expected.