Memories of High School Graduation and All Those Dreams

When I look back on my high school graduation there are few details I recall. 

I remember the cap and gown, which were purple. I remember my classmate Russ wearing his gown wrinkled and straight out of the packaging. I remember my parents giving me flowers.

But, the thing that I remember most from that day is how happy I was to be done with high school. I was ecstatic. I hated, hated, hated high school and couldn’t wait to move on to college. I did what I needed to get through those four angst-filled years.

Do you remember how you felt the day you graduated? Weren’t you filled with hopes and dreams? Didn’t you have great expectations about what the future would hold?

Where did those hopes and dreams go?

I had so many dreams in retrospect it was pretty ridiculous. It’s hard to make anything happen if you don’t really know what you want. As a college student one day I wanted to be an art historian, the next a philosopher or maybe a lawyer or a writer.

This week students from and high schools will graduate with all the pomp and circumstance that is required. Those kids are filled with hopes, dreams and great expectations, just like we had so many years ago.

At first I planned to write a column for them, but I changed my mind. I don’t have much to tell them that they haven’t heard a million times throughout their school years. So, let them revel in the unknown.

Instead, I decided to write about how we as “adults” still have the opportunity to live our dreams regardless of age.

If you’re like me you’ve probably held several jobs, did what you thought was expected — at least at some point in your career — and left behind many of your dreams for reality. Either that or you found different dreams worth achieving.

However you look at it, even though we may not be teeny-boppers, we have the benefit of age and experience to know it is never too late to do what brings us joy. That’s how I see it.

Sure, you may not end up as a lead guitarist in a major label band at 40, 50 or 60, that doesn’t mean you can’t be in a band, or learn to play if you never did. The folks over at or any of the local music stores would love to give you lessons.

Did you give up basket weaving and painting for accounting or some other much more stable career? Maybe it’s time to explore your creative side again. Take a continuing ed. class at the College of DuPage or find a program that allows you to travel while creating. Or, just wing it and slap some paint on a canvas.

If you want to write a novel, you need to start somewhere. Either set pen to paper and write your heart out or sign yourself up for a program like the creative writing certificate program at the University of Chicago’s Graham School of General Studies.

Getting older makes it easier to settle in to what is: the standard everyday life. The expected. The known. What is comfortable.

What is comfortable?

I’ve talked myself out of any number of things over the years.

I didn’t like to run. Not because I disliked running, but because I’m slow and I worried about what other people might say or think about me. Sometimes I still struggle with that, but now I know at least I’m out there trying and nobody but me knows my story. And, when I’m done I feel good.

Since I've been able to get out and run, I've done a sprint triathlon and a half-marathon. Two things I'd never imagined I could do.

Once we step outside the comfort zone, where the known and expected are part of our everyday life we find the place where we really start to shake things up, to really begin to live life.

So, I’m hear to say that although we aren’t just graduating from high school, we still have hopes and dreams. And, while we can and while we have time, we need to live those dreams to the fullest.

Now, what are you going to do?