The Last Bell
As I traipsed around the streets of Moscow today, I passed a number of high school graduates. Most of them were dressed up, either in preparation for their dances going on tonight, or still in their best dress from graduation celebrations earlier today. The last day of school here in Russia and Ukraine is a much bigger affair than in America. Instead of merely handing out and signing yearbooks, sitting through a few classes where you don't actually learn anything, and saying goodbye to all of your friends as was my experience back home, Eastern Europe's "Last Bell" celebrations are quite something. The students put on programs and parades, and it's particularly ceremonious for those who are leaving the school. They ring a symbolic "last bell," and sometimes the students release balloons into the air, silently wishing for things and thinking about their future.
As I observed some of these high school graduates tonight, wearing little bells on their lapels and sporting the traditional graduation sash, I felt their excitement. Their sense of accomplishment. Their hopes for the future. They had just completed their secondary education. They were stepping into a new phase of life. They were about to bring to fruition the things they'd dreamed of since they were little. As well as have some fun.
And suddenly my thoughts were drawn back to my own high school graduation, five years ago next week. We, too, felt excitement that day as we donned our red robes and received our diplomas. The world was open to us. We were ready to begin. We were going to change the world.
A lot has changed in those five years. I speak a few more words of Russian now than I did that day I moved my tassel. I accumulated more college credits than I can count. I lived overseas. I served a mission for my church. I read. I wrote. I met people who changed my life forever. I discussed. I thought. I changed. And it's been different than I imagined, back when I didn't know what to imagine. There's been a little less world-changing than I'd planned. A few more mundane tasks. A lot more pain and growth. More meaningful relationships than I'd ever hoped for. Deeper joy than I thought possible. More dreaming and planning than I thought I'd have left to do.
And yet, even though that was five years ago, tonight I feel exactly the same as those graduates who walked the streets of Moscow with me.
With the completion of a chapter and the opening of a new one, I'm stepping into a new realm.
With that last bell, life is beginning.
As I observed some of these high school graduates tonight, wearing little bells on their lapels and sporting the traditional graduation sash, I felt their excitement. Their sense of accomplishment. Their hopes for the future. They had just completed their secondary education. They were stepping into a new phase of life. They were about to bring to fruition the things they'd dreamed of since they were little. As well as have some fun.
And suddenly my thoughts were drawn back to my own high school graduation, five years ago next week. We, too, felt excitement that day as we donned our red robes and received our diplomas. The world was open to us. We were ready to begin. We were going to change the world.
A lot has changed in those five years. I speak a few more words of Russian now than I did that day I moved my tassel. I accumulated more college credits than I can count. I lived overseas. I served a mission for my church. I read. I wrote. I met people who changed my life forever. I discussed. I thought. I changed. And it's been different than I imagined, back when I didn't know what to imagine. There's been a little less world-changing than I'd planned. A few more mundane tasks. A lot more pain and growth. More meaningful relationships than I'd ever hoped for. Deeper joy than I thought possible. More dreaming and planning than I thought I'd have left to do.
And yet, even though that was five years ago, tonight I feel exactly the same as those graduates who walked the streets of Moscow with me.
With the completion of a chapter and the opening of a new one, I'm stepping into a new realm.
With that last bell, life is beginning.
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