Happy beginnings to all area graduates

Commencement — (noun) 1. a beginning or start 2. a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are given to graduating students.

Similar: beginning, start, starting point, opening, outset, onset, launch On Friday night, students at Medford Area Senior High School, Rib Lake High School and Gilman High School will dress in colorful robes and square-cornered hats with tassels with dates hanging from them. The band will play and the students will march to their seats in front of tearfilled eyes of family members and the good-natured gibes from older and younger friends.

They will listen to their classmates and school administration give speeches, some of which they may actually remember the next day. Speakers will share the memories of the past and aspirations for the future. The students’ names will be called and one-by-one they will cross in front of the crowd, accept a fancy piece of paper saying they met the requirements spelled out by the state of Wisconsin and their local school board and are now a graduate.

They will return to their seats afterward. Some will be beaming, others may be tearful, a few others may sneak a peek to make sure the diploma is actually signed.

The school alma mater will be sung and the band will play once more as the newly-minted graduates are dismissed into the crowds of family and friends. Hundreds of pictures will be taken. Parties will be held. All of it in celebration of a major milestone in the lives of young people and families in our communities.

High school graduation is as much a community celebration as it is a personal one. Young people represent the hopes and dreams of communities for a better and brighter future.

The thing about milestones, much like the numbered green signs along highways, is that their primary purpose is to mark how far people have come and to show how far people have yet to travel.

The local commencement ceremonies that will be held this Friday join a series of similar ceremonies that began earlier this month and will continue for weeks to come as around the region and state communities are celebrating the beginning of the next chapter in the lives of their young people.

For many that next step is into the workforce, others will go on to school, either to go into a trade or seek a professional degree. Some will be heading to a career in military service and others may take a little more time determining a direction to follow.

Along the way, choices will be made. Some will be good, others poor. Every choice will bring with it consequences. Life is full of making choices, the major difference between before and after the commencement ceremony is in who is responsible for making those choices. The goal of parents, teachers and school administrators has been to prepare young people for the change from having choices made for them to the young people making choices on their own.

With a handshake, a signed piece of paper, and a switching of the placement of a tassel the young adults will begin the journey toward their own futures, whatever that may be.

Congratulations and best of luck to all area graduates and their families.