Last night I went to Andalusia for my youngest cousin's high school graduation. First of all I am just going to say what everyone else is thinking which is graduations are quite boring. Except for the 30 seconds that your loved one is walking across the stage, it is quite miserable. However, for that 30 seconds we got to stand up and everyone knew that was our kid walking across the stage and it was pretty awesome.
I was quite bothered about something I witnessed during the ceremony. The audience stood up while the graduates walked in, and then several people sat down. Which would not be a problem except that was the part of the program where we all said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Star Spangled Banner. What is wrong with our society when people are too lazy to stand for our pledge and our national anthem? Of course I have my own thoughts and opinions on the subject but I am going to keep them to myself. But it definitely speaks volumes about the lack respect some people have for our country and how we got here and the people who have worked so hard to make our country great. And that makes me sad.
The principal, of course, said a few words during the ceremony and I really hope what he said sunk in to some people there (students and adults). He told them that "Everything you do matters." Not just to you, but to someone else. And they should consider that when they are making decisions. I think a lot of times people make decisions and choose their actions based solely on themselves and don't ever think about how that might affect someone else. What would it be like if everyone stopped to think about how their actions are going to matter to someone else - good or bad? Would we be nicer, help others more? Would we work a little harder?
