I love working with teenagers. Let's face it, they are an interesting bunch! So many things change, they develop right before your eyes, going from child to young adult overnight. As an adult who works with teens year after year, I find this time of year to be especially bittersweet. I have had the pleasure of working with some of our graduating seniors for years. They are a fixture in my life, and now they are leaving. I feel oddly "stuck" or "left behind". Not that I want to pack my bags and head off to college (well, maybe I do, but only if I could be 19 again!) but this signals a change, and a loss. My life will stay roughly the same, with holes where they were, while they are off to such new and exciting experiences.
Of course the gaps they leave will be filled by another group of youngsters starting on that transition from kiddo to young man or young woman, and in three, four or five years, I will be saying goodbye to them with the same pang I feel today.
So happily and sadly at the same time, I send my congratulations to the graduating class of 2014. You are off to new adventures and I wish you success and happiness. Have a safe and happy graduation!
Of course the gaps they leave will be filled by another group of youngsters starting on that transition from kiddo to young man or young woman, and in three, four or five years, I will be saying goodbye to them with the same pang I feel today.
So happily and sadly at the same time, I send my congratulations to the graduating class of 2014. You are off to new adventures and I wish you success and happiness. Have a safe and happy graduation!