When I graduated from high school I didn’t know what I was going to do next.
If you were to read my high school yearbook you would learn, not only that I once had long hair, but also that I wanted to be a zoologist. Well, I did at one point in Grade 12 before I realized I should have paid more attention in biology class.
Around the time graduation was coming, I realized my English and Social Studies grades, as well as my interest in politics, history and humanities were more suited to a degree in the social sciences, over the hard sciences. So, when I walked across the graduation stage I did so with some idea about what the path ahead looked like.
I’m a long way from where I ever thought I would be when I stepped off the stage 21 years ago, and that’s okay.
Grade 12 students across the Foothills are taking that same walk this week.
To step off the stage is to step into uncertainty. You may know where you’re planning to attend college or university and what career you will pursue, or you may not. You may have travel plans or simply be planning to take time to figure this all out, and that too is okay.
That’s the great thing about life. There’s a path in front of us all that is constantly changing, and high school graduation is only one of the great milestones along the way. The key is whether you know where that road leads or not, you need to run, fight for what you believe, hustle, work your butt off and reach as far as you can to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself.
To the graduating class of 2016, congratulations and remember to enjoy the journey.
