Graduation has a way of making time feel a little strange.
One minute, you are watching a group of young people walk across a stage, dressed up and full of possibility. The next, you are thinking about your own graduation, nearly 40 years ago, wondering how on earth so much time managed to pass so quickly.
I still remember pieces of it. The excitement. The nerves. The sense that something big was ending, even if I didn’t fully understand what was beginning.
At that age, the future feels both thrilling and impossible to picture. You are told to dream big, work hard, make good choices and follow your heart. All of that is true, of course. But life has a way of unfolding in directions you cannot always predict. There will be plans that change, doors that open unexpectedly, mistakes that teach you more than success ever could, and moments when you will have to be braver than you thought you were.
That is part of growing up. Truthfully, it is part of living.
When I look back on my own school years, what stands out most now is not the tests, the schedules, or the things I worried about at the time. What stands out are the people.
Some of my closest friends today are the chums I met in school. We have known each other through every version of ourselves. Awkward teenagers, young adults trying to find our footing, parents, professionals, caregivers, and now people who can laugh about things that happened decades ago as though they happened last week.
We are still making memories together, too. Last summer, some of us found ourselves traipsing through a major European city, not unlike we did all those years ago on school trips. The scenery was different, and so were we, but in some ways it felt beautifully familiar. There we were again, walking side by side or single file behind the leader, laughing, exploring, and proving that the best friendships have a way of carrying on.
There is something incredibly special about the people who knew you before you became who you are now.
To this year’s graduates, I hope you understand that the people sitting beside you may become part of your story in ways you cannot yet imagine. Some friendships will fade, as they naturally do. Others will surprise you by lasting a lifetime. Hold onto the good ones. Make time for them. They will matter more than you know.
Graduation is not just a finish line. It is a doorway. It is the moment when one chapter closes, and another begins, with all the uncertainty, promise and adventure that comes with it.
You do not have to have everything figured out. Most of us didn’t. Many of us still don’t, not entirely.
What matters is that you keep going. Stay curious. Be kind. Work hard. Take chances. Learn from your mistakes. Call your friends. Thank the people who helped you get here.
And when life gets hard, because it will, remember that you have already done something worth celebrating.
You made it to this day.
That is no small thing.
