Written on Graduation Day by Crystal Hayduk
I’ve been riding an emotional roller coaster for the last year.
Even though my experience is unique, I haven’t been alone. I’ve been on this wild ride with every other family and their high school senior.
I stepped off the coaster when Megan, my youngest daughter, graduated from Chelsea High School today.
Last summer, families of the Class of 2023 reached the front of the queue for the Bulldog Run Coaster. We boarded the train with a mix of anticipation and excitement.
At the station, we received important information about the upcoming year from Dr. Nick Angel, CHS principal; his administrative assistant, Vanessa Fisk; and Shelley Weber, the counseling office secretary. The first instruction in the multi-page packet of important events and dates could have been “buckle up and hold on.”
The train began to ascend the lift hill. Some easygoing enthusiasts enjoyed the view, while some experienced riders (like me) were already clutching the lap bar in anticipation of the first drop.
From the first day of school to the last, seniors and their families experienced everything from the highs of heady weightlessness to the lows of crushing blows, through a myriad of dips, turns, and loops: classes, music, art, theater, sports, standardized testing, relationships, illness, injuries, and jobs, to name a few.
The messages to both Do All the Things and to prioritize mental and physical health put students into an inverted loop as they realized they couldn’t accomplish the impossible.
As spring arrived, students were expected to make major life decisions about their futures while their brains were scrambled in a corkscrew.
The brake run of exams and final events brought the coaster to a halt. What had felt like never-ending overwhelm at the midway point seemingly took only a few minutes. We were back in the station for commencement.
Here we are.
Smile for the camera. Again and again and again.
We and our children survived this ride—its completion marked by a graduation ceremony that also serves to transition us all into The Next Thing.
Maybe the most important three words to mark this occasion are “we did it.” Today, 188 young people with unique personalities, characteristics, abilities, and talents metamorphosed from CHS students to CHS alumni.
But they didn’t do it alone.
And neither did we as their parents or guardians. We all arrived with the help of a large, caring support group, including, but not limited to, extended family, friends, teachers, health professionals, and church and civic leaders.
As every name was announced before its owner traversed the stage to receive their diploma, the stadium’s crowd applauded in unity. The feeling of community was palpable. Even if you are not directly related to or personally know a graduate, if you are a member of the Chelsea community, this is your celebration, too. We belong to each other.
For now, I’m pausing. Taking deep breaths. Regaining balance. Gathering thoughts. Psyching myself up for the next thrilling emotional experience with thousands of other families, the immersive Flying Dutch Funhouse, as Megan transitions to college in the fall.
We can do this—together. It’s a small world, after all.
