What's A Kid To Do Now?
1/1
Graduation. That point at the very end of your high school life that most look forward to. Finding out your grades, finding out who won which awards. There’s some people that get to make speeches and stand out at the front, and others who hide in the back, just thankful to have graduated. I’m the latter. My group of friends are in the category of people that choose to stay at the back. But unlike most people back here, we knew we were all going to pass for the most part.
I look to my left, and see Rian sat there with his floppy hair and a stupid grin on his face. Not that he didn’t know he would graduate, he’s just always been one to enjoy school events a little too much. Along the row next to him I see the majority of our group; we take up most of the row, only a few seats occupied by a couple of girls at the end who never really made much of an effort to socialise with other people. Then I look to my right. I see my boyfriend of three years, playing with his hands with the most adorable grin on his face. My hearth swells at that grin. After going through so much it’s nice to see him with a smile on his face for once, he really does deserve it. Just then I was knocked out of my thoughts by a booming voice piercing through the buzz of the students and the family members that came for support.
“Right everyone, we will now start giving out the diplomas.” Principal Soulsby said. For a young lady she really knew how to make her voice heard over everything.
“Jack Barakat”
I grinned as I heard my name being called, signalling my time to receive my diploma. As I was walking up I heard my friends and family cheering louder than everyone else in the hall. I thanked Principal Soulsby, shook hands with her and received my diploma. That moment when you finally receive what you’ve been waiting for and anticipating, you get a sense of pride. Feeling like all those years of hard work, the nights of endless homework, the rushed last minute essays, they’ve all finally paid off. You’re leaving this place you’ve probably called hell several times before, stepping foot into the real world. In the past you’ve been excited to leave school and get out there, doing your own thing, living life exactly how you want. But now you’ve got there, you realise how scary the fact that you actually have to fend for yourself now and there’s no parents in the next room to fall back on is.
I sit through more people getting their diploma. Those people you don’t really talk to, but know who they are; those people who will soon turn into nameless faces. People you’ll recognise in the street, but won’t be able to put a name to a face. I hear Rian’s name being called, and make sure to clap even louder for him. Looking at him up on the podium from my seat, all you can see is his giant grin and unusually white teeth peeking through. As soon as Rian is on his way back to his seat our row quiets down.
More and more names keep getting called, the number of times the crowd has roared, only to quiet down a few minutes later keeps increasing and increasing, all up until Principal Soulsby reads out that name I’ve been waiting for.
“Alex Gaskarth” She reads out. The whole of our row explodes in applause, even from here you can see how much he’s shaking as he goes up to collect his diploma. He comes back with tears in his eyes and throws himself into my side the second he’s sat back down in his seat.
“Thank you” I hear him whisper shakily into my shoulder, knowing it’s not a thank you for the applause, it’s a thank you for everything you’ve been there to help him through during your high school years.
The ceremony crawled on and on, more and more people receiving their diplomas with cheesy grins and their heads held high. From the names now being called you can tell it’s nearing the end of the diploma giving, meaning it’s getting closer to the point where we find out who’s won this year’s awards. Our school had always done it differently, the people who won the awards found out on the day, making up a short thank you speech on the spot. Principal Soulsby had always liked the idea of surprise.
“And now onto the part of this special occasion where we reveal who has won the traditional school awards this year. These awards are given out based on all four years at the school and all progress a student has made during those four years.” Principal Soulsby explained.
The awards always go on for a while, it seems that every year there’s a new award, but there’s always the traditional awards, and with traditional awards comes the predictable winners.
Sportsman Award – The football team’s quarterback.
Sportswoman Award – The head cheerleader.
Mathematician Award – That kid that everyone bribes to do their homework for them.
Our school wasn’t one for tradition, but if there was something we kept with, it was the Valedictorian Award being announced last; meaning the new award for the year was being announced just before then.
“Now, usually the new award for the year is a one off award. One person will get it one year then that’s it, nobody else. But this year the award will continue onward, as it will go out to someone who deserves it like nobody else every year. The new award for this year is an award that goes out to someone who doesn’t give in easily. Someone who despite everything happening in their life, will still continue to put other people first, someone who will smile so bright that said smile will light up a whole room. And that’s why the new award for this year goes to Alex Gaskarth.”
My head shot up from where I was looking down at my shoes, to looking at the boy next to me, who was sat with his mouth open, looking as shocked as ever. Slowly he got up on shaky feet and made his way towards the front of the mass of students, all of which were giving him a standing ovation. Everybody knew what Alex had been through over the past few years, and everybody would agree that nobody deserved this award more than Alex did.
“Thank you” Alex managed to shakily get out into the microphone he was given once he reached the front.
“I really wasn’t expecting this, so thank you so much again.” At this point Alex looked over towards all of us sat in our row and smiled as warmly as he could at us, given his current state of shock.
“One thing I do know about this award is that I wouldn’t have been able to get it without the help from all of my friends sat over there on their row with huge grins on their faces. I never would have been able to keep up my happy front all the time if it wasn’t for them. If most people were faced with what I was, they probably would have given up. Believe me, I was so close to it at one point, so I have to give a massive shout out to all of them, as if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. But, there’s one person I need to mention separately. And that person is Jack Barakat. Thank you so much for being my rock through everything” He trailed off at the end as his voice cracked. A smile of pride on his face through everything. The smile growing even more so as he looked out into the crowd to see his mother and father in the middle of the crowd, giving him a standing ovation with tears in their eyes.
Principal Soulsby encased him in a hug to try and calm him down a bit, and slowly walked him back to his seat with us, a huge smile on her face as she did. Once again, Alex threw himself at my side and clutched onto my arm. A watery smile and a few whispered words later we were all stood up counting down the seconds for throwing our caps in the air.
“...Three, two, one!” Our whole year chorused, the sky becoming painted with a navy blue from all of the caps, going down in what looked like a wave due to the staggered seating. The second the last cap hit the ground everybody in sight started laughing and talking to each other. Saying final goodbye and giving congratulations to those who won awards.
“So, looks like it’s finally time to get into the big world then?” I said to our group of friends.
“Yup, college, work and family life lies ahead of us!” Rian said with a laugh to his voice.
Alex laughed more at that than anyone else that was part of our conversation, we all looked towards him when he filled in the gap of silence with what we were all thinking.
“So..... What’s a kid to do now?”
I look to my left, and see Rian sat there with his floppy hair and a stupid grin on his face. Not that he didn’t know he would graduate, he’s just always been one to enjoy school events a little too much. Along the row next to him I see the majority of our group; we take up most of the row, only a few seats occupied by a couple of girls at the end who never really made much of an effort to socialise with other people. Then I look to my right. I see my boyfriend of three years, playing with his hands with the most adorable grin on his face. My hearth swells at that grin. After going through so much it’s nice to see him with a smile on his face for once, he really does deserve it. Just then I was knocked out of my thoughts by a booming voice piercing through the buzz of the students and the family members that came for support.
“Right everyone, we will now start giving out the diplomas.” Principal Soulsby said. For a young lady she really knew how to make her voice heard over everything.
“Jack Barakat”
I grinned as I heard my name being called, signalling my time to receive my diploma. As I was walking up I heard my friends and family cheering louder than everyone else in the hall. I thanked Principal Soulsby, shook hands with her and received my diploma. That moment when you finally receive what you’ve been waiting for and anticipating, you get a sense of pride. Feeling like all those years of hard work, the nights of endless homework, the rushed last minute essays, they’ve all finally paid off. You’re leaving this place you’ve probably called hell several times before, stepping foot into the real world. In the past you’ve been excited to leave school and get out there, doing your own thing, living life exactly how you want. But now you’ve got there, you realise how scary the fact that you actually have to fend for yourself now and there’s no parents in the next room to fall back on is.
I sit through more people getting their diploma. Those people you don’t really talk to, but know who they are; those people who will soon turn into nameless faces. People you’ll recognise in the street, but won’t be able to put a name to a face. I hear Rian’s name being called, and make sure to clap even louder for him. Looking at him up on the podium from my seat, all you can see is his giant grin and unusually white teeth peeking through. As soon as Rian is on his way back to his seat our row quiets down.
More and more names keep getting called, the number of times the crowd has roared, only to quiet down a few minutes later keeps increasing and increasing, all up until Principal Soulsby reads out that name I’ve been waiting for.
“Alex Gaskarth” She reads out. The whole of our row explodes in applause, even from here you can see how much he’s shaking as he goes up to collect his diploma. He comes back with tears in his eyes and throws himself into my side the second he’s sat back down in his seat.
“Thank you” I hear him whisper shakily into my shoulder, knowing it’s not a thank you for the applause, it’s a thank you for everything you’ve been there to help him through during your high school years.
The ceremony crawled on and on, more and more people receiving their diplomas with cheesy grins and their heads held high. From the names now being called you can tell it’s nearing the end of the diploma giving, meaning it’s getting closer to the point where we find out who’s won this year’s awards. Our school had always done it differently, the people who won the awards found out on the day, making up a short thank you speech on the spot. Principal Soulsby had always liked the idea of surprise.
“And now onto the part of this special occasion where we reveal who has won the traditional school awards this year. These awards are given out based on all four years at the school and all progress a student has made during those four years.” Principal Soulsby explained.
The awards always go on for a while, it seems that every year there’s a new award, but there’s always the traditional awards, and with traditional awards comes the predictable winners.
Sportsman Award – The football team’s quarterback.
Sportswoman Award – The head cheerleader.
Mathematician Award – That kid that everyone bribes to do their homework for them.
Our school wasn’t one for tradition, but if there was something we kept with, it was the Valedictorian Award being announced last; meaning the new award for the year was being announced just before then.
“Now, usually the new award for the year is a one off award. One person will get it one year then that’s it, nobody else. But this year the award will continue onward, as it will go out to someone who deserves it like nobody else every year. The new award for this year is an award that goes out to someone who doesn’t give in easily. Someone who despite everything happening in their life, will still continue to put other people first, someone who will smile so bright that said smile will light up a whole room. And that’s why the new award for this year goes to Alex Gaskarth.”
My head shot up from where I was looking down at my shoes, to looking at the boy next to me, who was sat with his mouth open, looking as shocked as ever. Slowly he got up on shaky feet and made his way towards the front of the mass of students, all of which were giving him a standing ovation. Everybody knew what Alex had been through over the past few years, and everybody would agree that nobody deserved this award more than Alex did.
“Thank you” Alex managed to shakily get out into the microphone he was given once he reached the front.
“I really wasn’t expecting this, so thank you so much again.” At this point Alex looked over towards all of us sat in our row and smiled as warmly as he could at us, given his current state of shock.
“One thing I do know about this award is that I wouldn’t have been able to get it without the help from all of my friends sat over there on their row with huge grins on their faces. I never would have been able to keep up my happy front all the time if it wasn’t for them. If most people were faced with what I was, they probably would have given up. Believe me, I was so close to it at one point, so I have to give a massive shout out to all of them, as if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. But, there’s one person I need to mention separately. And that person is Jack Barakat. Thank you so much for being my rock through everything” He trailed off at the end as his voice cracked. A smile of pride on his face through everything. The smile growing even more so as he looked out into the crowd to see his mother and father in the middle of the crowd, giving him a standing ovation with tears in their eyes.
Principal Soulsby encased him in a hug to try and calm him down a bit, and slowly walked him back to his seat with us, a huge smile on her face as she did. Once again, Alex threw himself at my side and clutched onto my arm. A watery smile and a few whispered words later we were all stood up counting down the seconds for throwing our caps in the air.
“...Three, two, one!” Our whole year chorused, the sky becoming painted with a navy blue from all of the caps, going down in what looked like a wave due to the staggered seating. The second the last cap hit the ground everybody in sight started laughing and talking to each other. Saying final goodbye and giving congratulations to those who won awards.
“So, looks like it’s finally time to get into the big world then?” I said to our group of friends.
“Yup, college, work and family life lies ahead of us!” Rian said with a laugh to his voice.
Alex laughed more at that than anyone else that was part of our conversation, we all looked towards him when he filled in the gap of silence with what we were all thinking.
“So..... What’s a kid to do now?”
7/29/13