It seems like it was only yesterday that my classmates and I paraded around our high school football stadium on graduation night picking up our diplomas. Then again, it seems like a whole lifetime ago that is so far in the past I have trouble remembering specific details of the evening.

I graduated from a small high school in Pennsylvania several decades ago. Our graduating class of around 200 seniors was considered big for our school. Growing up in a town of approximately 8,000 people, while we were not exactly out in the middle of the country, it was a place where pretty much everyone knew one another to some degree.

With Patrick Henry High and a number of other schools in our area graduating soon, I first want to wish all the graduates congratulations and much success in the years to come. Getting through high school can be a challenge in itself, especially in the world we live in today.

Times sure have changed since I graduated

Without sounding like someone’s grandpa or old uncle, things were in fact much different when I went to school than they are in countless American high schools today.

The most noticeable difference from then to now of course would be how we communicated with one another.

Among the differences from the 1980’s to now when I was walking my school halls, sitting in classrooms, playing sports and more:

* There was no Internet.

* No internet of course meant no social media.

* Cell phones were also not in the hands of the general public at the time.

* I had to take a typing class and we typed on electric typewriters.

* No one had to fear there could be a mass shooting on their campus.

* We covered our school books with paper bags

* Finally, if you had a bit of a crush on a cute girl in your classroom, you were not texting her hello during class. Instead, you’d write something on a note and discreetly pass it among other students across the room, hoping against hope the teacher would not confiscate it.

Yes, life was much different in many ways back then than what we have in 2024.

Opportunities are there for the taking

There are many opportunities out in front of the 2024 graduates.

Whether going on to continue their studies in college, entering the military, joining the workforce for someone, starting their own business and more, much can be accomplished in the coming years.

My biggest advice to grads is to take advantage of what is in front of them and most certainly appreciate the opportunities given them.

I can speak from experience in saying that life goes by much faster than one realizes.

I remember all too well when I was a kid thinking how I could not wait to be an adult one day. It seemed like being able to come and go as you pleased, drive a car, and more would be so cool when I got older. Sure, those things are cool now, but I also wouldn’t mind dialing it back to my school days for a period of time.

Although studying and taking tests proved not always fun, I somehow worked my way through high school. When not dealing with classwork, I got to play sports, hang out with some cool friends, go on a senior class trip and much more.

The high school I went to (pictured above back in the day) is now a parking lot. It was replaced in the mid-1990’s with a brand new school right across the street. The hallways I walked dated all the way back to the early 1900’s and lasted many decades before the wrecking ball finally came calling for a newer and fancier school.

Other than death and taxes, most things change over time.

Now that you’re graduating high school, take advantage of every positive opportunity that comes your way.

As someone speaking from experience, life passes you by in the blink of an eye.