Graduating High School is a huge thing. It’s as people would say, “closing a door and opening a new one” or “taking the next step in your life.” Graduating is such a bittersweet time in your life for reasons like these. The first bittersweet thing about graduating high school is you’re finally moving on in your life and, if I’m being brutally honest you’re losing a lot of people. People you have grown up with and seen everyday for years (unless maybe you live in a small town like us and, you’re still gonna see them at Walmart every once and awhile). They’re going to move away, go to college. You’re going to move away, go to college and start your life. Get a degree, get a job, find a man/woman and, maybe start a family and get married. Only to see those people at high school reunions (do they even have those anymore?).
Another bittersweet thing of leaving high school for 60% of the student body will be losing sports. Senior nights for every sport are one of the saddest things to watch because, for most of these players they have been working hard since usually before they even hit double digits to play the game that they have grown to have so much love for. Senior nights for a lot of players mark one of the last games of their career as an athlete. It’s so hard to get to play for a college team with any sport, to get a scholarship or anything so usually it just kind of all ends. Lets not forget about the sports fans though! In a lot of high schools and Rolla High School especially takes pride in our student sections we always come out the loudest and the proudest to be a Bulldog and that last home basketball game of the year is a sad day even if we don’t really realize it at the time.
The last bittersweet moment of graduating high school for a lot of children will be saying goodbye to their favorite teachers. Though, a lot of kids dislike most of their teachers or just really don’t have any kind of relationship with a teacher, if you are lucky you get that one teacher you grow a special bond with throughout their four years and, it really is more bitter than sweet losing that support system. But, catching up with them while coming home for breaks on college will always be a must for the rest of their teaching career as a teacher.
With all the sad things that come with walking across that stage at graduation and shaking Dr. Pritchett’s hand and receiving your diploma it really is such a great accomplishment and, you really are in that moment starting the rest of your life.