Graduation is today. I adore graduations, as I do most ceremony. (Okay, partly because there is costuming involved!) The symbolism of academic regalia. The families and the accomplishment and the transition. The pomp. The circumstance.
The tears I shed are from an overflow of feelings, not exclusively sadness. I never fail to find myself swept up in a tempest of emotion. Sure, there is sadness for the loss of the everyday presence of some very special individuals. But it's tempered. By excitement for students concluding this chapter and outlining the next. Pride in some students' extraordinary stories and the joy of participation in them. Love.
In the words of Dr. Seuss, which will inevitably be used in commencement addresses worldwide: do not cry because it's over - smile because it happened.
Congratulations, Class of 2009. Go, and take flight. Travel lightly, but keep some souvenirs of these four years tucked in your suitcase hearts.
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