My favorite part about a grad ceremony is when the person calling the students up on stage tells us what their grand plan is for the future.
E.g. “Janey Smith. Janey is going to the university of British Columbia and wants to become a doctor.
or
E.g “Daniele Hamamdjian. Daniele wants to become a marine biologist and work with the Cousteau family.”
Well, Daniele (moi) never got to meet the Cousteaus, nor did she ever get to study marine biology because a little course called organic chemistry got in the way.
Funny how things get in your way and steer you in a different, ultimately better, direction.
As each graduate at Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa got up in their robe to get their diploma, I laughed. I laughed at their shoes -- the flip-flops, the what seemed to be five-inch heels, the sneakers, and yes, there were even barefoot grads.
One is going to carpentry school, another is going to catch up on some sleep, so she says, and few are taking a year off to figure out what they want to do, and who they want to be.
“I’ll have to pay taxes, that’ll be hard,” one young man said. “Voting...that’ll be even harder.”
Yeah, taxes and voting, both can be hard, especially in today's Canada.
To Janey the future doctor, and the rest of the graduates, I hope your grand plans come true, and I also hope they don't, because of the right things getting in the way.
We salute you, Class of 2012.
