My Sister the Graduate
The last couple of days have been filled with celebration because Rach graduated from Littleton HS yesterday, four years after I did. The graduation ceremony was really rather nice. A lot of the things were familiar: the purple and white robes, the multiple student speeches that seem to err on either vapid or condescending, the good old LPS stadium and of course Jim leading Concert Choir in the National Anthem (with the first soprano money note at the end that almost blew out the PA system).
There were differences though, too. LPS has a new superintendent and Littleton has a new principal. It was more than a little disconcerting not seeing Westy addressing the graduates on creating the future in his poofy blue hat. Tim Westerberg was Littleton High School, and I thought of him yesterday, wondering how he is getting along with his new identity separate from the school where he was so integral a part. But I digress. The graduation speeches made multiple references to email, Youtube, school lockdowns, the war in Iraq, climate change, technology in the classroom. The class of 2007 seems so much more wired, so much more "plugged in" as high school seniors than my graduating class was. Boundaries and limits are being erased as technology continues to play a greater role in our lives. I was chatting with Mr. Kron at Rach's grad party (it was an amazingly good conversation and by far the longest amount of time I have interacted with the man one on one) and he said that he read the Class of 2007 graduate will have an average of seven careers before they are 30, and that when they do settle on a career, it will most likely be in a profession that doesn't yet exist using technology that hasn't been invented yet.
What a strange world this is. My sister is graduating from high school and starting college in the fall. Knowing that my little sis is headed not only for college but for college in another state...it's just so weird.
Of course I couldn't be prouder of the little scamp. It's amazing how far she's come and what all she's been able to accomplish in the last four years. She's ridiculously talented, and the awards, roles, accolades, honor choir invitations, etc. just kept on coming month after month. Mr. Kron told me yesterday that she is, along with her boyfriend Tim, the most talented and natural musical theater performer he's ever had in his program. She's going, on scholarship, to an acclaimed performing arts program that does twelve shows a season to earn her BFA in Acting. I am related to this person. This is the girl that I used to make pretend music videos with in our living room, who still has a teddy bear named Fuzzy, who sang "Genie in a Bottle" (without a trace of irony) at her fifth grade talent show. It's almost surreal, and yet I never doubted for a nanosecond that my sister was not destined for greatness.
I was struck by how Kron thinks incredibly highly of her. I always new he liked her and thought she was talented, I mean she got cast all the time so that much was obvious. But I had no idea how deeply his respect for her talent runs. In a way, because he is so cantankerous and strange, when Kron gives someone a compliment it carries more weight somehow. I live and breathe for Jim's (it's a new thing I'm trying; I figure if I can get comfortable writing it than someday I can get comfortable saying it out loud) approval and I always will; yet, sitting there talking with Kron, someone I never thought I'd have much contact with after I graduated, welcoming me to the teaching profession, dispensing advice, telling me not to be a stranger...it meant a lot, left a definite impression on me.
My life and life of my family is on the cusp of another massive paradigm shift. Rachael is leaving for college in OKC in less than three months. In six months I will be graduated and looking for full time work. Mom and Dad will be empty nesters and trying to negotiate that next stage in their lives. For the first time ever, the four of us will not all be living in the same state for the entire year, and it's a good bet that it may be a long time (or never) before we are all living in the same state again. Surprisingly enough, I am at peace with that. My thoughts will surely change once Rach actually leaves, but for now it just seems like the natural order of things. I think in the back of my mind I always knew she would be the one to go to school out of state. We've always been different, and I think when I realized I couldn't handle going to school out of state, I knew she'd be the one able to take the plunge and do it.
Things are changing, I'm changing. College seemed like such a liminal stage of my life, but it was just the warm-up. The next ten years are going to be quite something. I turn 22 tomorrow...I don't really know what to say about that. Rachael turns 18 in July. Rusty turns 30 in December.
Congratulations on graduating, Rach. Enjoy being excited for your future, you've earned it. The only downside is that life only gets more complicated from here on out.
There were differences though, too. LPS has a new superintendent and Littleton has a new principal. It was more than a little disconcerting not seeing Westy addressing the graduates on creating the future in his poofy blue hat. Tim Westerberg was Littleton High School, and I thought of him yesterday, wondering how he is getting along with his new identity separate from the school where he was so integral a part. But I digress. The graduation speeches made multiple references to email, Youtube, school lockdowns, the war in Iraq, climate change, technology in the classroom. The class of 2007 seems so much more wired, so much more "plugged in" as high school seniors than my graduating class was. Boundaries and limits are being erased as technology continues to play a greater role in our lives. I was chatting with Mr. Kron at Rach's grad party (it was an amazingly good conversation and by far the longest amount of time I have interacted with the man one on one) and he said that he read the Class of 2007 graduate will have an average of seven careers before they are 30, and that when they do settle on a career, it will most likely be in a profession that doesn't yet exist using technology that hasn't been invented yet.
What a strange world this is. My sister is graduating from high school and starting college in the fall. Knowing that my little sis is headed not only for college but for college in another state...it's just so weird.
Of course I couldn't be prouder of the little scamp. It's amazing how far she's come and what all she's been able to accomplish in the last four years. She's ridiculously talented, and the awards, roles, accolades, honor choir invitations, etc. just kept on coming month after month. Mr. Kron told me yesterday that she is, along with her boyfriend Tim, the most talented and natural musical theater performer he's ever had in his program. She's going, on scholarship, to an acclaimed performing arts program that does twelve shows a season to earn her BFA in Acting. I am related to this person. This is the girl that I used to make pretend music videos with in our living room, who still has a teddy bear named Fuzzy, who sang "Genie in a Bottle" (without a trace of irony) at her fifth grade talent show. It's almost surreal, and yet I never doubted for a nanosecond that my sister was not destined for greatness.
I was struck by how Kron thinks incredibly highly of her. I always new he liked her and thought she was talented, I mean she got cast all the time so that much was obvious. But I had no idea how deeply his respect for her talent runs. In a way, because he is so cantankerous and strange, when Kron gives someone a compliment it carries more weight somehow. I live and breathe for Jim's (it's a new thing I'm trying; I figure if I can get comfortable writing it than someday I can get comfortable saying it out loud) approval and I always will; yet, sitting there talking with Kron, someone I never thought I'd have much contact with after I graduated, welcoming me to the teaching profession, dispensing advice, telling me not to be a stranger...it meant a lot, left a definite impression on me.
My life and life of my family is on the cusp of another massive paradigm shift. Rachael is leaving for college in OKC in less than three months. In six months I will be graduated and looking for full time work. Mom and Dad will be empty nesters and trying to negotiate that next stage in their lives. For the first time ever, the four of us will not all be living in the same state for the entire year, and it's a good bet that it may be a long time (or never) before we are all living in the same state again. Surprisingly enough, I am at peace with that. My thoughts will surely change once Rach actually leaves, but for now it just seems like the natural order of things. I think in the back of my mind I always knew she would be the one to go to school out of state. We've always been different, and I think when I realized I couldn't handle going to school out of state, I knew she'd be the one able to take the plunge and do it.
Things are changing, I'm changing. College seemed like such a liminal stage of my life, but it was just the warm-up. The next ten years are going to be quite something. I turn 22 tomorrow...I don't really know what to say about that. Rachael turns 18 in July. Rusty turns 30 in December.
Congratulations on graduating, Rach. Enjoy being excited for your future, you've earned it. The only downside is that life only gets more complicated from here on out.