June is the most optimistic time of year in the mountains.
The sun is warm, wildflowers are unfolding on the hillsides and the newly
minted high school graduates are walking into the future with high hopes.
Parents, teachers, friends and neighbors regale them with tears, hugs and
good wishes.
It’s nearly impossible not to feel good while watching graduates
march to the podium to receive their diplomas. It’s nearly impossible not to get
choked up as the graduates deliver their thanks, offer sighs of relief and outline their
dreams for the future.
Graduation is a triumph, not only for graduates. It is a triumph of
teamwork between families and the community.
It’s a triumph not easily won.
Year after year, families stretch and strain to provide the home structure
necessary for their children’s success in school. Teachers search constantly for
better methods to make their charges understand the subjects before them. Communities dig
deep to come up with the money to build and operate good schools that will prepare
students to live in a society whose hallmark is change and more change.
Graduation is the culmination of those efforts. It is the symbol of the
strong individual and public commitment to education. It is the acknowledgment that every
good thing in life flows from good education.
Graduation is the ritual that marks a job well done. Congratulations to
all.
