Graduation...
So, I’m finally getting around to writing the graduation post…sorry it’s taken so long. I’ve been traveling and only now came upon some time. I have, in the interim, been trying to think of a way to explain all that was going through my head over the last few days. You see, graduation was so much, so fast, and meant so much, I don’t think I can do it justice. Instead, I’ll try and share a couple of moments with you all that I had not considered before I experienced the last week of my life, things that, when told, may give some backstage insight into what graduation is like.
Before the ceremony, about three hours early, the first class marches up to the stadium to the holding area. It is there that we all get in line to march in. We had all gone out the night before to the Firstie Club or out with our families and had to finish cleaning our rooms also. We had each slept maybe three or four hours the night before and, as soon as we got to the holding area, all the work we had put into perfecting our uniforms (shoes shined, brass spotless and pants pressed and dressed off) went down the drain as we all fell asleep either individually or in groups.
You know the picture of cadets throwing their hats in the air? The one right after graduation, when the First Captain says, “Class Dismissed!”? Well, I had seen that picture for years, hate in the air, arms akimbo, smiles and cheers, and that was where the moment stopped. I threw my hat in the air (a new hat…I wanted to keep my old one. As a side note, a lot of the hats left on the ground that children pick up to keep as souvenirs are brand new.) I looked up jubilantly only to find that the moment doesn’t end there, hats in the air. You see, gravity continues, the hats come tumbling back down and you have to duck your head and cover so as not to be hit by falling hats—something I hadn’t anticipated.
After the hats, we all hugged and cried and laughed and tried to find our families. This is where a second aspect of graduation I had never thought of came into play. We wear brass plates on our chest (as seen in the pictures), and, when you hug one another, there is the sound of brass on brass and the backings kind of poke into your chest. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s a physical feeling that I hadn’t anticipated either.
All things considered, it was the best day of my life and I will never forget it. I would tell you all about everything that was said and done, but I cannot…just know that, for once, I have accomplished something I am genuinely proud of, and I’m excited to move onto the next phase of my life—Platoon Leader! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, in a few short months, I will be in charge of people. I have to say, if there were a time to enlist, it would be now because you will then be under the leadership of the class of 2007.
Before the ceremony, about three hours early, the first class marches up to the stadium to the holding area. It is there that we all get in line to march in. We had all gone out the night before to the Firstie Club or out with our families and had to finish cleaning our rooms also. We had each slept maybe three or four hours the night before and, as soon as we got to the holding area, all the work we had put into perfecting our uniforms (shoes shined, brass spotless and pants pressed and dressed off) went down the drain as we all fell asleep either individually or in groups.
You know the picture of cadets throwing their hats in the air? The one right after graduation, when the First Captain says, “Class Dismissed!”? Well, I had seen that picture for years, hate in the air, arms akimbo, smiles and cheers, and that was where the moment stopped. I threw my hat in the air (a new hat…I wanted to keep my old one. As a side note, a lot of the hats left on the ground that children pick up to keep as souvenirs are brand new.) I looked up jubilantly only to find that the moment doesn’t end there, hats in the air. You see, gravity continues, the hats come tumbling back down and you have to duck your head and cover so as not to be hit by falling hats—something I hadn’t anticipated.
After the hats, we all hugged and cried and laughed and tried to find our families. This is where a second aspect of graduation I had never thought of came into play. We wear brass plates on our chest (as seen in the pictures), and, when you hug one another, there is the sound of brass on brass and the backings kind of poke into your chest. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s a physical feeling that I hadn’t anticipated either.
All things considered, it was the best day of my life and I will never forget it. I would tell you all about everything that was said and done, but I cannot…just know that, for once, I have accomplished something I am genuinely proud of, and I’m excited to move onto the next phase of my life—Platoon Leader! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, in a few short months, I will be in charge of people. I have to say, if there were a time to enlist, it would be now because you will then be under the leadership of the class of 2007.
posted by Adam at 3:35 PM
1 Comments:
Adam, I just want to say congratulations and hope that word carries all the pride and awe I feel of your accomplishment! Can't wait to clink a beer with you, dude!
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