Let's Talk About...Graduations

Ok. It is graduation time of year again. Niwot High School, CU Boulder, various preschools and elementary schools are all celebrating the launch of a flock of graduates who have completed the requisite tasks to "level up."

Let's talk about that for a moment. "Graduate" means to complete. Commencement means to begin or start anew. So, a graduation commencement ceremony marks both an ending and a beginning

You "graduate" to the next level while at the same time "commence" something new. While you have accomplished something notable, the world lies ahead waiting for you to commence what is next.

"What a difference a day makes" is never so true as the day after graduation. After a whirlwind of proms, parties, awards, speeches, concerts, plays, picnics, and carnivals, you find yourself standing alone with the whole world at your feet.

After all the hoopla, you wake up in the morning faced with a new world fraught with decisions, pathways to choose, trails to follow, and people to meet. No longer is the school district determining what you will do next year. You are determining that all by yourself. And the options are endless and often surprising.

No matter your age, education level or situation, any graduation can be daunting and exhilarating at the same time.

You say goodbye to friends you have spent every day with over the last four to twelve years. Many you won't see again until your 10-year reunion. You don't believe it to be true. But it is.

Whether it is you, your child, grandchild, friend or relative, graduation marks a certain day that the world hands you a diploma or promotion and says you are ready for the next level. You look ahead and commence the next phase of your journey. That vista is vast. But you are ready.

I recently attended my niece's medical school graduation where I watched my niece transform from "student" to "doctor" in the blink of an eye. She looked the same, but we all knew everything was different.

My brother, Tom, my niece's father, has several bird houses in his North Carolina backyard hoping to entice bluebirds to take up residency and raise their babies. During our visit, I joined him to survey the results.

We crept up to one birdhouse and Tom opened the box ever so gently to peer inside. What did we see? A nest of baby brown-headed nuthatches freshly hatched and waiting to be fed.

Like those nuthatches, graduates are like fledgling adults, learning enough and getting strong enough to fledge and fly on their own. And although Tom was hoping for bluebirds, the nuthatches were an unexpected happy surprise.

So, whether it is preschool, medical school or a new job, trust you have what it takes to get to the next level and the judgment to determine what that "level" should be. Embrace the unexpected and keep your eyes on the goal ahead.

And for those of us left with an empty nest, take wing as well and soar.