kaiserjr18's blog

The walk down the isle was a heart pounding moment. As soon as I crossed the threshold of the door that led into the auditorium, and was able to hear the sound of graduation music as me and my Partner strolled in perfect cadence through a crowd of smiling yet teary-eyed parents as they snapped photos of us in our maroon gowns. As we neared the stage I heard the sound of my name being called over the speaker and it made my stomach weak to know that I was finally going to graduate after twelve years of grade, middle, and high school. When I arrived to my chair and look out into the crowd all I saw were dozens of flashes as parents tried to capture the moment for their kids as well. The ceremony itself was long and tedious our school kept a very traditional graduation. They didn’t allow anything that was fun be it beach balls, air horns, or noise makers. I was not only sweating bullets because of the intense lights that were shinning down on to me in my thick gown, but also I was hoping they would not see the can of silly string that I had concealed in my sock. After about an hour of sitting and listening to a bunch of speeches that I honestly didn’t care about, because all I was focused on was getting out of there, It was finally time to receive my diploma. My stomach once again crept up my throat as I heard my name called once more and the response of the crowd as they heard “Jon Kaiser, Son of Troy and Tamorah Kaiser, Majoring in Civil Engineering with a Minor in Leadership at Virginia Military Institute.” Being from a small town in Wisconsin almost nobody knew what VMI was, and so the response in hearing this was one of both awe and questioning. As I approached my Principal and Superintendent I never had such a feeling of accomplishment come over my body as I shook their hand and received my diploma. Soon after I took my seat and so did everybody else It was time to depart. We left the same as we entered, in an orderly and formal fashion, but as soon as we once again crossed the threshold of the auditorium and exited our school for the first time as Alumni of Jefferson High School, for lack of better words, all Hell broke loose. All 162 of my fellow classmates broke out into a simultaneous cheer and I was finally able to take out my silly string and cause havoc with it, it was impossible to see who had it now. After a night of partying the next day brought the realization that a new chapter in my life was about to start.  My Ratline and possible Cadet-ship at VMI was about to start soon. The significance of this event is that to me it marked the official end of my childhood and the beginning of my life as an adult. From them on I would be responsible for the rest of my life and able to make my own decisions. This both excited me and scared me at the same time.