Commencement is a beginning.
I always say to my students, “I hope your best music is in front of you.” And, “I hope your best days aren’t in high school.”
That’s because graduation isn’t the end of a journey: it’s the beginning of one. It’s right there in the name “commencement.”
As I watched my son graduate tonight, I certainly had lots of reflections about endings, about the journey from pre-school to today.
But I had more thoughts about his future, and about watching him flourish and continue to grow. And that’s how I feel about all my students, too: I can’t wait to see what they do after high school.
Because commencement is a beginning.