This week marks 25 years since I walked the stage at my high school graduation. There was no bittersweetness to me. I was eager to get the heck out of high school and into the real world.
Even still, it’s funny to see my face looking so childlike!
I worked all through high school, usually 4-6 days a week, and was an honor student. When I graduated 25 years ago, I was 17, just about to turn 18, but I was prepared to work incredibly hard to get where I wanted to go.
Throughout my long university career – with many twists and turns in it due to leaving Canada and immigrating to the States and then ultimately getting married (and being very poor in those early married days!) – my university days are marked with the continuous struggle of working while balancing studies.
Once I got into my full time job, I was able to partake in tuition reimbursement. Because of this, I have a master’s degree and probably haven’t spent much more than $5000 of my own money on college. But the cost of course came by spending many year juggling being a wife, working full time and going to school.
Diplomas and papers mean very little, honestly, especially in an age where so many people cheat or get graded on a curve. What I am most proud of is my tenacity. I made big goals and stuck to them. I never shed a tear or tucked my tail on the hard days.
I learned the most from the late nights, conquering my doubts, and reading books and taking stock of myself and wondering “am I becoming what I truly want to be?”
I will be 43 in a couple weeks, and my goals and ambitions are much different than they were at 18. Or 28. Or even 35 when I finally finished my master’s degree. But I look at the face of myself 25 years ago and I know one thing hasn’t changed: I view the world through hopeful eyes. I view adversity through my belief in my potential. I view myself with honest criticism. Am I truly doing my best and being my best or am I deceiving myself?
I don’t remember everything I ever learned in high school or 9 years of university. But I learned how to show courage, how to dig deep, how to stick to a plan.
Those are things I’ll never forget.
Anna Farley 