Late Night Thoughts for the Class of 2015

I've been thinking a lot about gifts lately. RWD and I are now just three weeks away from our wedding, and we have been receiving packages in the mail each week since we sent invitations. I love getting presents as a visual, tangible reminder of the person who gave me the gift. Currently, many of our wedding gifts are stacked together waiting to be sorted out, but each giver has a box. I love being able to look into a box and know exactly who sent its contents.

It is not surprising, then, that I love the fact that working in education allows me to compartmentalize things into school years. Quite easily, I can separately file away the events of one year and the members of each class in my brain, which can be quite handy. I also enjoy having the summer time to rejuvenate before the school year starts again. Although time goes by faster and faster, I try not to let the years run together.

Tomorrow, I will wrap up my time with the Class of 2015. This week has been filled with events, meals, and parties to celebrate the accomplishments of some outstanding young men and women and send them off to the next part of life on a positive note. Just this week, we've had a banquet, a breakfast, and a party, not to mention the official ceremonies! One of my favorite events each year is my school's Senior Recognition Ceremony, because I love seeing my students celebrate together and get recognized for their years of hard work. I am always tremendously proud of them. They deserve it.

Just after midnight, I met the seniors from my floor by the front desk in our regalia to celebrate it finally being graduation day. Seeing my girls in their regalia made me so excited. Even though this has not been the easiest year of my job -- Were any of them ever easy? -- I have had a great group of seniors, and I am so proud of all of them. To continue the gift idea, I finally feel like we are tying the bow on a lovely package.

Of course, things are not quite that simple. My own life is testament to the fact that things will not always stay separated into neat little boxes, no matter how hard I try. In a few weeks, all of those wedding gifts will be out of their boxes and spread throughout the home RWD and I will build together. When everything is integrated into our household, I will still remember who sent the bath sheets I cried about on Match Day and that one of RWD's fraternity brothers purchased our silverware. In a few months, my seniors will all head in different directions to become better versions of themselves and make their marks on the world, but they will still remember their high school experiences. Those experiences will affect their decision making and impact their lives long after the mortarboards hit the ground in a few hours. While the idea of neat, compartmentalized boxes is appealing as an idea, it is not realistic or even the best way to approach life; if we do not allow our years, relationships, and experiences to overlap, we cannot give to others the best versions of ourselves.

Congratulations to the Class of 2015. You have been a gift to me just by being yourselves. Now go out there and save the world...but don't dance with boys!