Off the I-15

Nearly instantaneously there was something about the atmosphere that triggered this warp into time and a jog down memory lane. But I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Suddenly, I had a vivid picture of my graduation at Woodruff High School. The year was 2000 and the location was in Peoria, Ill. The memories were so crystal clear that it was emotionally overwhelming for me.

This stroll in my mind was set off when I began asking the current graduate questions what there plans were. The sense of optimism I felt from their responses was the catapult to memories of an event that happened nearly a decade ago.

The memories came in a flash. Suddenly, I was in their shoes. I remember the jolt in my heart rate as I walked to receive the diploma.

I remember the sense of relief that high school was over. The sense of urgency about my future plans, and the sense of adventures on journeys and had only began to embark in my mind. Overwhelmed, I took a quick breather and soaked up my surroundings.

Graduates basking in their achievements and their hard work with people they care about probably wondering in their own minds the same thing I was wondering as a graduate from Woodruff High all those years ago. What’s next?

When guest speaker Mark Meadows discussed overcoming adversity in his speech I couldn’t help but think of all the trials and tribulations that I fought in my own life over the past eight years in my journeys to achieve my own personal goals and aspirations. But the thoughts weren’t just self-centered. I thought of the kids I interviewed. Some of the kids at the alternative school that had over came many challenges in their pursuit of happiness and security. I thought of the inspirational story of Matt Burcham. Perhaps it was Burcham’s refusal to quit after a mortifying motorcycle accident to hit the books and get his education.

“Forget being in a wheelchair again, I am walking,” Burcham said.

Or maybe it was the first kid in a line of family to graduate high school. Or Stephanie Knight, who has almost died several times, and spent nearly a whole year in the hospital. I thought of Knight, who wrote the biography of her life as a legacy, because she didn’t think she was going to live. I think at that moment I figured out what annual tradition of graduation is about.

It’s a celebratory moment of achievement on the road to more challenges in life.

Jason Blasco | staff writer