Commencement 2012

Sukhdeep Mushiana, Writer
June 19, 2012
Filed under Frank Hurt News, Top Stories

On Tuesday, June 5th the commencement ceremony for the Frank Hurt graduates of 2012 took place. Many of the people having to sit through the ceremony may have just seen it as an extensive process of watching hundreds of students repetitively walk across the stage, but I can assure you this ceremony meant so much more to the graduates.

It never really hit me that I was graduating until I picked up my cap and gown, and went through the ceremony rehearsal. Sitting up on stage looking at the hundreds of people who had come together at the Bell Centre, to watch us finish this chapter in our lives, gave me a sense of accomplishment as well as the bittersweet feeling of having to leave high school, which I’m sure all grads can relate to.

The ceremony began with speeches from the VPs, talking about the journey we’ve had over 5 years, and the journey into the “real world” that we are about to embark on. I found it so emotional, because it made me realize how much I’m going to miss high school, and how scared I truly am to enter a whole new world. This being Ms. Christiansen’s last year at Frank Hurt made the ceremony all the more sad. Ms. Christiansen is always such a pleasure to be around, and makes everyone feel so welcome! It was amazing to have had her as a VP for my 5 years of high school and I think I can speak on behalf of all the grads when I wish her the best at Earl Marriott!

Before the grads walked across stage to obtain their diplomas as well as a yellow rose, we got to hear the valedictorian speech, carried out by Amy Foreman, and she did an incredible job. She was able to sum up the emotions of what we were all feeling, and was able to put in words how even the smallest details of high school will be so memorable to us.

I never imagined graduating would feel as terrifying as it does, and I’m sure many others would agree. I thought I couldn’t wait until graduation, and when I could finally step foot into the world and discover who I am. But while sitting here staring at an empty word document I realized I already know who I am, and high school has shaped me into that. Others may beg to differ, with the argument that “you don’t truly discover yourself until you set out on your own,” but I genuinely believe that the mistakes we’ve made, the lessons we’ve learned, and the choices we made in these 5 years have created us. I truly feel that high school has prepared us for our futures. It’s no doubt that we’re all going to miss it, we’re going to miss everything: Mandeep and Amanda rushing us to class, the super long student of the month announcements, gender bender day and spirit weeks, even maybe the new late system (okay, maybe not that). But as much as we dread dragging ourselves out of bed every single morning, I can speak for a large majority of grads when I say we’re going to miss every bit of this. Hurrying to get our GTPs in, completing our commencement write ups, and seeing our graduation pictures on the wall scares the life out of us, because it show us this is real. As cliché as it is, this isn’t the end, it’s only the beginning.