The Time Has Come... The Best of this Job

It has finally come upon us... the best part of this job.  Graduation!  Honestly, this is the part of the year.  After all their hard work, we have the chance to watch our seniors walk across the stage and receive their diploma.  My heart fills with pride for them.  Their stories vary.  They come from all walks of life and have a million different obstacles to overcome (including their own stubbornness).  And yet something has stuck with them... their desire to graduate from high school.


I have one student who had her first baby when she was 15 years old... her second when she was 17.  And yet somehow she has balanced being a mother and a student in order to NOT be a super senior and graduate with her class.  She is the only teenage mother I have met that honestly puts her children first.  She puts them in the school daycare every morning, goes to class, and stops down to see them throughout the day.  And I get to see her cross the stage and earn her diploma.


Another student has a father in the army who has been in and out of Iraq these past few years.  He spent many of his years being the outcast in school... even in a school full of outcasts.  For 17 years he felt ashamed to tell his family and friends that he was gay.  This year, he finally felt comfortable with who he is, and earned a scholarship from our school district for college.  And now I get to see him cross the stage.


One of my favorites (yes... teachers have favorites...) is a young girl who is 20 years old.  She's a single mother, has been abused by her son's father, and been involved with gangs, drugs, and more for most of her life in some way.  Last year she didn't care about anything.  She didn't care about school, about a future career, about anything.  To be honest, I don't think she really believed she had a future.  By the end of last year and into this year, there was nothing more important to her than graduating high school, getting a job, and finding an apartment for her and her son.  I get to watch her cross that stage.


There are 15 students graduating tomorrow and they all feel like my children to me.  I have watched most of this these past two years... and it's AMAZING how two years can change people.  They have matured and grown and have found a purpose in their lives.  This is my favorite part of the job.  It's the happiest day we have... and I'm so excited for tomorrow.  Must bring my camera...