Walking into their futures
Boomer Blog - Shirley Scott
I recently received a double envelope from Mississippi; it contained an invitation to the high school commencement of my great-niece Ally. Later I saw two Facebook pictures of the grad-to-be: one of a five-year-old, pigtailed Ally on her very first day of school; the other of a young woman, car keys in hand, on her very last day of compulsory education. I am still trying to do the math that has allowed so much to happen in such a short period of time.
Although I will be with Ally in spirit only on her big day, during my lifetime I have attended more than forty graduations – including a couple of my own. I have been inside gymnasiums and outside in stadiums, sometimes moving from one to the other while dodging raindrops. Last year I watched commencement on the Graham website as students, surrounded by family members only, received diplomas – in the pandemic style of 2020. Regardless of location or year, however, robed and tasseled young people have always been about bidding farewell to a completed stage of their lives, even as onlookers and well-wishers have bade farewell to the youngsters they know and love now heading for the next stage in life.