Normally, at the end of a school year, graduates have a tendency to gaze vaguely at future endeavors. Instead, it is worthwhile to focus on the past. Graduating seniors across America have overcome obstacles that have continuously complicated their lives.
In their 18 or so years of living, their naïve eyes have perceived many things, things that many never dreamed of seeing. Teens today have seen the scandal in central governments and the recurring atrocities of war. They have seen entire countries collapse, and the brutal effects of terrorism. They have seen a world stricken with environmental issues and disturbing natural disasters.
Many have watched hopelessly as their parents have been laid off from work, anxiously scrambling for alternative means to handle the finances. Many have watched prayerfully as their mothers and fathers have worried about where their next meal would come from, restlessly searching for hope and reassurance.
And yet through it all, Southfield High provided a safe and nurturing learning environment despite the larger context of a tumultuous world. As problems tried over and over again to unbalance this year’s graduates, another class of graduates stands triumphantly. As gas prices exceed $4 a gallon and more homes are foreclosed, another class of graduates stands triumphantly.
As whirling tornadoes and massive tsunamis threaten the world’s well-being and the well-being of loved ones, another class of graduates stands triumphantly. In the midst of the woes and growing inhumanity in the world, another class of graduates stands triumphantly.
Now is the time to look back on the treacherous world conditions this year’s graduates have endured and wield that same feeling of victory in the face of the inevitable new trials that are yet to come.