Lone gone are the last days of school for me. My own ended with graduation in June of 1971. I’d be a liar if I said “it seems like only yesterday” when I sat with my 600+ classmates on our football field waiting to get through all the speeches until each one of us walked up to the platform to get our diploma. While I can remember being very uncomfortable in my cap and gown in the afternoon heat, I cannot recall one speech or which one of my classmates delivered it. Living in that moment was certainly an important time in my life but now it’s a nice faded memory like an old pair of favorite jeans.

This week kids all over our communities are graduating, too…with the popularity of social media many of their photos are being posted for family and friends to enjoy. Parents are sharing first day/last day comparison photos and they’ve been great to see…causing me to reflect back on my own trek through elementary school years on into junior high and eventually high school.

Much has changed in the 52 years since I left my high school in Saginaw. We didn’t have social media to post photos or create an event for our graduation parties. Goodness, it wasn’t until my senior year that we girls were allowed to wear jeans or pants to school.

In my elementary years, on our last half day of school, we COULD wear shorts! Our dress code for the school year was always a dress or skirt…socks with shoes…no sandals or flip flops. We never saw a teacher in pants either….attire for them was the same, and our male teachers were required to wear a tie.

My elementary school was a city block from our home, which meant I walked. Our neighborhood had at least 50 kids, so we always had a group to join as we made our way to Merrill Park. I can remember being excited and nervous all at the same time, arriving on time and getting to my desk, waiting for my teacher to hand me my final report card with all my grades, her written comments regarding my academic growth…notes about behavior…and most important of all…the indication I had passed onto the next grade and who my teacher would be in the new school year. The walk home was filled with relief and all of us kids comparing grades and finding out if we would be in the same classroom with a friend.

I have many fond memories from my school years, most of which were never captured in a photo or social media post that are commonplace today. Some memories are tangled with the current events from the 70s…I can remember the “guys” in my graduating class being concerned about registering for the draft as the VietNam War was being fought….others were headed off to a top ten university, questioning if they were prepared for the rigors of college courses….quite a few went straight into the workforce as Saginaw had three major automobile plants working three shifts, promising good pay and steady employment. A few of my classmates enlisted in the military, a choice that was well respected in our community.

On my graduation night, I got my diploma. Well, actually, I got the folder my diploma would go into…in order to get my “actual” diploma I had to return my cap and gown…the tassel was mine to keep…along with a bunch of memories that are becoming more difficult to “pull up” in an aging mind…yet always bring a smile to my face when they do…and knowing I no longer need to worry about passing or failing…