This weekend and next, high school graduates from across southwest Michigan will walk across the stage at their respective schools for the last time. They will take home their diplomas and leave high school behind for good.

To all of those students, I want to say: Good luck and enjoy your next adventure.

I remember my own high school graduation both like it was yesterday and a million years ago at the same time.

It was May 24, 2013 — I remember because it was the day after my 18th birthday. I was wearing a fancy new dress my mom and I had scored from the clearance rack at Macy’s, and my hair was braided just so to make sure that it wouldn’t be flattened under my white cap. I remember that my ceremony was far too long and far too boring, but that when the time came to move my tassel to the other side of my face, I wasn’t sure that I was ready to leave everything — my friends, my family, my home — behind. But I also knew that I had the whole world ahead of me.

In the six years since my high school graduation, my life has changed. And changed again, and probably changed a few more times after that. I’ve loved, lost, traveled the world, failed, and gotten back up again.

When I was 18, I thought I would be living a lavish life in Washington D.C. or New York with five dogs and someone who did my dishes for me. But now, I find myself living in small downtown Niles, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I also do my own dishes — that, I would change if I could.

Seniors, while the specifics of my life may not apply to you, the general message will. The world is ahead of you. It is open to you, and your lives from this point on are what you make of them.

I can guarantee with almost complete certainty that the plans you have for yourself and the things that are important to you now will change. And if you don’t have any plans yet, that’s OK!

As you grow up (though you may be adults now, you still need to grow up), the future will become clearer to you. Until that happens, don’t be afraid to test yourself, fail or try new things. Find out who you are outside of your home and the high school where you spent the last four years. And whether or not you decide to stay in your hometown or travel far away, always do your best to leave a place better than you found it. Work to find a community and make lives of those around you better.

It’s cheesy to say that the kids are our future, but it’s true. And from what I’ve seen of our high school students, the future is in good hands.

Best of luck 2019 graduates!

 

Sarah Culton, is the managing editor at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7712 or by email at sarah.culton@leaderpub.com