“On Graduation Day”. Mixed media including XL graphite blocks, acrylics, Neocolor II, acrylic ink, metallic paste on Canson XL – 11 x 15 inch watercolour paper.
I am thinking of all the graduation ceremonies that will be held in June. For many years as a high school teacher, I attended these celebrations.
In the crowd, I saw all the proud faces of the students’ relatives gathered to celebrate this milestone.
I wondered about the path each student would take to find a true calling in life. A few students would travel to Europe for a year or work to fund their studies. A wise decision for the undecided. Most would continue their education at college or university.
Little do they know, on the day they graduate, that the years ahead of them will be the most difficult exam.
Amid the many successes of former students, I have also heard of the formidable struggles…job loss, financial failure, depression, divorce, epic battles with cancer, and lives shattered in so many ways. These life events break my heart.
While painting this woman, I thought of fresh, young faces in my classroom over the years and the promise their futures held.
This one was extremely shy, that one was hoping for an Olympic medal (and did participate in the winter Olympics), while another one always had a joke to tell. Even the bold and disrespectful students come to mind: one former student contacted me on Facebook 15 years later to apologise for his unruly behaviour in my classroom.
My former students are never far from my mind. I often wonder what ever happened to???
Over the years, there have been surprise meetings in grocery stores, at the theatre, in the doctor’s office…so heartwarming to meet former students as adults with their young families and to have a quick catch up chat.
In Forever a Wallflower, (March 2017) and in How do you mend a broken heart? (February 2019), I thought of the awkward moments in high school and all the students I can remember who didn’t fit in.
There are far more outcasts than you might think, especially in a city school.
I wonder what happened to so many of them when they were called to write the most difficult exam.
(Header photo taken by Brett Jordan – a copyright free photo from unsplash).
<3 You're sharing of you're beautiful artwork Louise.
Thanks Audrey. Appreciate your comment. Nice to hear from you. Cheers!
You have done a brilliant job of this beautiful girl ????????
Thank you Sally. Always trying new techniques. Keeps me young…lol!