So it’s official… I am a high school graduate. Thursday night I walked across Steve Riggs Stadium as Pomp and Circumstance blared through the speakers. I sat in the first row and listened to the top six students in my class deliver speeches that were meant to encourage and excite my graduating class as this chapter came to a close. And finally, 25 minutes into the ceremony, as the rain began to fall and the thunder boomed, I walked across that stage. I threw my cap in the air and embraced my friends because we were done. (And yes, we most definitely were “those girls” squealing and group hugging because some stereotypical moments are just too good to pass up.) As excited as I was, I really couldn’t believe that it was over. I couldn’t believe that my 12 years of schooling came down to an hour on the rainiest Thursday night we’ve had in months. It was surreal in the truest sense of the word.

Although graduation didn’t go exactly as we all had expected… It rained poured, it was a little bit rushed, and I didn’t get to stand around on the field taking pictures with everyone I know… it was one of the most exciting nights of my life. The exhilaration that came with the finality of it all is almost incomparable. Isn’t it funny, though, how so often we look forward to one thing for so long that once it’s over, all we’re left with is a sense of emptiness. We push ourselves towards a day, an hour, a minute, that we see solely as a finish line and we focus so intently on reaching that finish line that we forget everything that is left to come afterwards. Friday morning, I most definitely felt that emptiness. I woke up and the only thought going through my mind was “So……. what now?” I had officially come down from the post-graduation-oh-my-gosh-I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening high from the night before, and all I had left of it were some pictures of my friends and I in rain-soaked gowns and a piece of paper that said I was finally done with FWBHS. Honestly, it was pretty sad. All day I had to keep reminding myself that I had an entire summer ahead of me. I had to keep reminding myself that I would be going to college in just a couple months and would once again begin a race that would end at a graduation. I had to keep reminding myself that getting through high school was not my life, it was merely a moment in my life.

Throughout our lives, we all go through these types of things to some extent. Although for me it was high school graduation, for some it may be marriage, a job promotion, having kids or all of the above. Regardless of what the situation may be, it is only human for the excitement to build. I mean, duh, if there was nothing to be excited about, life would be a songfest. So, of course, don’t be afraid to get excited! I could throw cliches at you like “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened…” but I won’t, because hey, if you feel like crying because it’s over, go for it. I do urge you, though, to remember that life is a much longer race than it seems. If you’re running a marathon, you don’t reach the end of mile one and quit because you’re just not sure what to do next. You take a moment to celebrate the milestone and then you keep pushing forward, always looking ahead to the next mile marked. Ben Rector sings lyrics that could not ring more true, “cause life is not the mountain tops, it’s the walking in between…”

EXACTLY.

Although life is made up of peaks, most of our time is endured in the valleys. So enjoy the high points, but never gorget to keep on keepin’ on because even though this may be over, something new/bigger/better is right around the corner.