The sad part about any graduating class of 2020 is that they weren’t able to walk as their older siblings did, as their parents did, or as their grandparents and so on and so forth did. The Times Leader had another take on this, but to be real no matter if they did walk, it wasn’t the same. The walk is, to be fair, more symbolic than anything since nothing is taking away the fact that they did graduate, that they reached the top of one mountain and now get to tackle another, but it’s still a rite of passage that’s hard to take away from anyone. Unfortunately the outbreak of the coronavirus wasn’t really that kind to anyone this year, and while nothing can downplay the lives that have been lost and altered, the fact that these kids didn’t get the chance to experience a part of life that is essentially the next step in their journey is kind of saddening, even if it’s not the end of the world. Thankfully though Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves thought it important enough to give San Dimas High School a few kind words and encouragement on their way towards that next step in their own way, and while it’s short and to the point, it’s also definitely something that a lot people won’t be able to say that anyone else experienced in their time. Heck, I can recall my college graduation being led into the gym while bagpipers were leading the procession. It wasn’t unique to any school, but it was the first time it had been done at that school, so it was indeed special. The graduation walk is something that can’t be experienced the same way again, but at the very least a lot of us can look at the class of 2020 and say that it’s not necessarily the walk between high school and the rest of your life that you need to think about, it’s the path you choose soon after that will become the most important.
High school is that time in life when a person is still figuring out what it takes to get from point A to B and what’s going to happen once that trip begins. From freshman to senior year, there’s a lot that goes on in a young person’s life that helps them to change, cope, and keep changing with everything that’s happening around them. Some might claim that the last four years have been a bit of a tumult, especially since the country has been continually dividing itself down the same old lines that one would have hoped had been abolished a long time ago. But being a high school student in the 2010s couldn’t have been easy at times, and it’s bound to be seen as a turning point at this time since those of 2020 were made distinctive as those of Briannon Wilfgong of Tuscon would agree by the fact that they didn’t get to walk. To some it’s not a big deal, but to others it’s absolutely everything. It’s the defining moment that says “I did it” and allows a person to show off the culmination of four years of learning and hard work, sweat, and toil that went into an education that in some cases is only bound to start up again. Some people will head on to college, others will seek out a job and a life that will hopefully be fulfilling, and some might just be glad it’s over and don’t have to wake up early for class again.
The point of the walk is this however, it means you earned the privilege of walking with your classmates to show that you were able to stick it out through four years that, to some, is an arduous task that may or may not end up gaining a person what they want. Let’s be fair and say that education doesn’t work the same for everyone, but the experience is still important as high school is set to give a person more than just the educational knowledge that will or won’t apply once they hit the real world. High school is where one is taught to think on their feet, to learn at a pace that is not just what’s expected from the curriculum, but also what they can handle and what they feel is adequate. To some folks, students are shipped through high school like cattle as the No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to insure that every kid was given a chance, no matter that it had to be one of the dumbest initiatives to ever come along. High school is where a person learns to think, to push boundaries, and to become aware of what they can do and why it’s important, or could become important, to the world later on. This message from Alex and Keanu is special for more than the fact that two celebrities decided to reach out, it’s special because it’s an investment, however small, in generation that will hopefully be greater than any that’s come before it.
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