The Beginning of the End

Tonight I attended a choir concert that showcased the vocal talents of the most gifted men and women at Ferris High School. It gave me chills to observe my students doing something that they clearly had a great deal of passion for and I loved seeing their confidence exude from the stage-I would have been terrified. As the concert wound to a close, the women's select vocal ensemble performed The Heart (in French no less!) and as they entered the second part the new members of the group filed on stage and stood behind the senior girl they would be replacing. When the third part began, the new members stepped forward into the circle and the seniors tearfully left behind the group to which they had been so connected. The entire experience was quite moving and I found myself nearly crying too. Tonight I began to realize that in four weeks I will say good-bye to my beloved students, colleagues, and Ferris High School. Like those seniors, I too will be replaced. As the seniors count the days until graduation, I feel as if I am going through the build-up to commencement myself. I remember the bittersweet feelings that came with "being done" and "moving on". Strangely, I can relate to these children who are soon to be out on their own in an unknown world. As a high school graduate I had high hopes of maintaining relationships and holding onto memories, and I can say that ten years after the fact I still hold tightly to some of my most cherished friends from my teenage years. Some things, however, do not survive the separation of miles and years. Now that the countdown has begun, I must gear-up, not wind-down as I so wish to do. There are many things still to accomplish as this is only the beginning of the end. More to come...