Here’s to the Class of 2021!

I looked at my daughter’s school days picture frame, and I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. It was time to fill the very last oval! School photo number twelve. Done.

Admiring the completed frame, the cap and gown, and her beautiful smile, I couldn’t resist taking a trip around the photos. I reflected on Picture Day mornings, braiding her hair as we scrambled to find the blasted order form.

I smiled at her seemingly endless orthodontic care, remembering the sacred ice cream trips after every appointment. Behind each pose was the story of a year on her journey, quick snippets of her life unfolding. There were celebrations and disappointments, beginnings and endings, belly laughs and tears.

Every step helped her understand the world around her and the person within her. And with each filled oval, she inched closer to appreciating her delightfully unique path, even the rocky uneven parts. She found her voice, her independence, her confidence, and her passion. She made it! A finished frame and a wide open future.

When my daughter saw the final product hanging in the hallway, she asked about the photo in the middle. While the senior portrait is typically front and center, I couldn’t part with what was there—the first day of kindergarten. The look on her face is priceless and I remember that morning in the driveway as if it were today. She wore her Hello Kitty backpack like a badge of honor and radiated joy as she waited for the school bus for the very first time. With a whole new world to explore, she welcomed all of it! She greeted the unknown with open arms, bright eyes, and an adventurous spirit—well deserving of the center spot.

My wish for my daughter, and the entire class of 2021, is to rock that cap and gown like a Hello Kitty backpack. May they enter this next chapter with childlike awe and curiosity, celebrating life’s simplest treasures and all that awaits. May they embrace the beauty of change and growth, flourishing more and more with each passing season. May they take everything they’ve learned and continue building their very own, remarkable, one-of-a-kind story—a story they are proud to share. And when things get tough, as they sometimes will, may they return to that center spot, remembering to marvel at the world around them and not worry too much about any of it.

Graduation is the day of a brand new, shiny, blank frame—an invitation to fill each year ahead with purpose, gratitude, adventure, and moments that inspire a smile. It’s exhilarating to imagine what comes next, and no matter what the plan is, the possibilities are limitless. Seniors are often asked incessantly about where they want to go and what they want to do, but the bigger question is who they want to be. When each day reflects the answer to that question, the path is well-marked and the future…brilliant!

Congrats to you, Class of 2021! Go create something amazing.

*This piece was published on the Grown and Flown Facebook page!  If you have teenagers or young adults, I highly recommend all things Grown and Flown. Their website, book, weekly emails, and social media are jam-packed with awesome info. Take a look:)