Stay Gold

This is my niece Amelia. Isn't she beautiful? Amelia graduated high school today.

"Why", do you ask, "are you writing about Amelia, when you have had two brothers and a sister, numerous cousins and another niece graduate high school too?"

It's because this year it is different. Amelia graduated in 2010.
I graduated in 2000. It's been 1o years.

I don't really remember anything too significant about my graduation. I sat forever waiting for my name to be called. I was in the last group of 15 or so kids. That's what you get for having a last name that starts with W. Then we went to Applebee's for dinner. My grandma ordered a Diet Coke. I went to the graduation party that night, and that was it.

High school was done.

My plan was to go to college and bite my time until my missionary came home,
and then I would go on with my traditional life.

I guess then at that moment I didn't realize the enormity of ending high school. I really didn't appreciate what it signified. Ending high school was ending an era of innocence. Ending high school was the end of life as I knew it. For me at least high school was a sense of normalcy. I went to school, I had a job, I hung out with friends, I had to be home by 11pm. I felt then that my decisions were huge and the burden that they brought were insurmountable. Now, looking back, a lot of that stress and worry was so meaningless. so minuscule.

I never could have imagined what real responsibility would bring. I never could have guessed all the real life crap that I have gone through. Part of me still wishes that I could surround myself with that naive blanket again and crawl back into the commons area at Davis High.

But then again.

Maybe the best advice I got that night, remains written in my yearbook,
"Stay out of trouble, make a lot out of your life in the future. Stay gold."