Graduates: You are Enough

Last week was the best. Why? I attended six graduations and two farewell assemblies. What a privilege!  A huge thanks has to go to school staff, families and communities who work to make these ceremonies successful. It wasn’t lost on me the tremendous amount of work and hours that go into each and every one of these special events.  Graduations prompt reflection. Since they mark the end of one part of a life and the beginning of another, they are a natural time to look back and to look forward. Both Kristi Keery Bishop and David Fife, two Ontario bloggers, wrote about their school graduations and shared really thoughtful posts: Graduation Thoughts and Graduations, Awards and Celebrations.

In the week of celebrations, smiles, nerves, teetering high heels, tears and cheers of graduations, one sentence stood out. I was at the Ancaster High School ceremony and Principal Randy Gallant made his remarks to graduates and their families.  He urged them to always remember that “you are enough”. What a simple yet powerful statement.

Maya Angelou said it too: “You are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”  To me, this means that your true self, the essence of you is enough. Enough to be valued as a colleague and team member and loved as a friend. Enough to take risks. Enough to know and learn.  If every student who stood to be recognized or walked across a stage last week truly felt this, what would our world look like?