The season is upon us when life commences – anew – for thousands of Harford County's young people, and many others not so young.
There's always been a conundrum about graduations, because while the graduates are completing a facet of their formal schooling, the so-called commencement ceremonies they and their families attend are supposed to be about starting out on the next stage of life's, hopefully, long journey.
Most graduation speakers try their best to impart some words of wisdom to the graduates. Rare, and almost always universally welcome, is the ceremony that dispenses with the formal speeches, by guests or students alike, and gets down to the business of awarding those diplomas (or ersatz diplomi) and commencing with the celebration, which in Harford County almost always at the high school level involves Silly String, beach balls and caps thrown high in the air.
Frankly, that's the part of graduation that most of us like best. It's the opportunity to celebrate the end of an often tough grind and the sense of victory that goes with it. Of course, there will be all sorts of graduations around the county over the next two weeks, from the Harford Community College ceremony that was Thursday, to various preschools and middle schools and high schools, not to mention the hundreds of college commencements taking place this month around the United States and the world, whose classes have one or more members from Harford.
When you graduate from high school, you stamp your passport for the next leg of the journey. It is, indeed, a great personal accomplishment that no one can take away once you've earned it. For those graduating, savor the moment, celebrate wisely and safely and be sure to thank your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, guardians, aunts and uncles. And don't forget to give similar thanks to the teachers and other mentors who helped you get there.
Regardless of the school or the age, a graduation honors a personal achievement, but it also honors those who stood behind the person wearing the cap and gown.
Congratulations to all!