Looking back at graduation

By Staff
Rebecca James, Franklin County Times
With graduation right upon us, it takes me back to my own graduation in 1998.
I remember it like it was yesterday even though it was 9 years ago, but I try not to think about it too much because it makes me feel old. Most people would say that 27 isn't that old, but with my ten year reunion approaching, I am starting to feel that way.
I had never been so excited about anything in all my life. Four years at Wilson High School was four too many for me, and I was ready to make my mark on the world and to get out of Florence.
When I graduated, I made my way to my first year of college at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
I was wide-eyed and full of hopes and dreams, and totally unprepared for the crazy world of college.
My first semester, I was dead-set on being a band director, but I found out quickly that it just wasn't something I was going to be able to do. The classes were extremely hard, and even though I spent hours holed up in the practice rooms with my saxophone, I still barely passed my music classes.
With several years of marching band under my belt, I was sure that was what I was destined to do. The very next semester, I changed my mind twice, once from Radio, Television and Film, and then finally to Journalism.
I wish I could say I made a decision and stuck with it, but it took one more try at music education, and then a stab at Photography to lead me back to Journalism. It took two colleges and several degree changes to lead me to where I am, and I wish now that I would have thought a little more carefully about the decisions that I made.
Our Seniors are at a very important point in their young lives, and the decisions they make now can affect them for the rest of their lives.
I wish them the best of luck in everything they do, whether they are going off to college or straight into the work force.
Congratulations Seniors, you've earned it.