graduation

GRADUATION

I can still remember it like yesterday. It was June 6, 1994, the day of my high
school graduation. This day is the single most important day of my life. This day was so
important to me because it was the first thing I had to work really hard on to accomplish.
For the first time in my life I felt as if I really could succeed in something. It helped to
change my life.
It started out like just another day but things would quickly change. I woke up at
7:00 a.m., which is extremely early by my standards, with anticipation of the day I had
been waiting for. After sitting around for 3 hours I made my way over to Ludlow High
School. The graduating class was to be there for 10:00 a.m. to pick up our cap and gown.
The principal, Mr. James Cavallo, called out everyone's name and proceeded to hand them
their cap and gown. When he finally handed me my gown I quickly took it and sat to me
admire it. Its funny how the simplest things can symbolize a whole new beginning. I sat
and looked at this ugly maroon gown with this weird looking square hat.
The ceremonies were to be held at the Mullins Center on the campus of the
University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The ceremonies were to begin at 7:00p.m., yet I
had to be there at 6:00p.m.. When everyone arrived we rehearsed on how we were to
walk in and where we were going to sit. You could the excitement in everyone's eyes.
No one could wait for the moment in which our diplomas would be handed to us. They
lined us up by height with the boys to one side and the girls to the other. Each boy was
paired up with a girl and was to walk in side by side with her when the ceremonies began.
Once the couple reached the grandstands, where each member of the graduating class
would be sitting , they were to separate with the girls going left and the boys to the right
until everyone was seated.
The time finally arrived . It was 7:00p.m. and the music had begun to play. We
started our slow march to the grandstands and I could here the crowd cheering. I looked
up to take a look at the audience and quickly found my family waving their hands around
in excitement. It felt like we had just won a sporting championship and had arrived home
to our beloved fans. I sat through about an hour of boring speeches which I could not tell
you one single thing about. I tried to seem interested in what was being said at the
platform to my right but I just couldn't concentrate. My mind kept wandering to the
moment why I was sitting through this nonsense. Finally I saw my principal stand up and
then I knew it was time. He gave a brief five minute speech and started calling out
names. When my name was finally called I had a funny feeling come about me. It was a
feeling that I have not experienced since. My heart felt like it dropped into my stomach
and I got this cold shivering which produced goose bumps all over my me. That brief
moment had come and gone and now it was time to celebrate.
Not only was my high school graduation the first step in helping me to get to
college but it gave me the confidence that I could do anything if I really put my mind to it.
If I had not graduated I would of felt like I couldn't accomplish anything.