Just Something I Wrote
Daddy, Guess what? I'm about to graduate daddy I'm about to walk up the isle of non-existent faces. I can feel my long curly hair swishing against my back propelling me forward as I walk to the head of the ramp, up to the podium and except my diploma while trying to bear through the phony handshake of the principle as a small congratulations is whispered my way. I let my cedar eyes roam over the multi-colored faces that swarm together to form a single entity. I can see you there beaming at me. As if you had a big hand in me being up here.
As if you were the one who stayed up with me to do all of the different project, As if you stayed up to help me study. It's as if you believe that you put in all sorts of money for my new school supplies, all of the calculators, rulers binders and pencils. My hoards of school clothes, my many pairs of shoes and let's not forget all the backpacks I went through.
I turn my eyes to look over the crowd again and I see my cousins all smiling and yelling my name, making me feel like I'm top of the world. I see both of my grandmothers in the front row applauding me on, silently congratulating me on my victory for conquering the evil monster known to all students old and new as high school.
I look on further still and I see my step dad grinning from ear to ear as his eyes alight with pride as he watches his daughter take the first step to becoming a wonderful young lady. I know that before the night is done I will be sat down to have one of those `talks' that all fathers give to their children before they are released to go into the world unprotected, hoping his advice will help me get through the big bad world unscathed.
Then my cedar orbs catch the light green ones of my mother who has a certain glow to her as she smiles with pride down at me. A sense of achievement passes across her face as she watches her baby girl grow up into a big bad adult and move on into the real world. Knowing that the road will be rocky for her one and only baby girl but she's not worried because she knows her baby will make it. As a graduation gift she passes on the pride of a women and the strong gentle hands of a mother.
I can tell she wishes for me to find my prince charming and ride off into the sunset, resulting in the happily ever after ending that all brides to be dream of. And I smile and tell her in my own way that one-day I will find my prince and I'll be a happy bride and have a few kids of my own. However one thing will always stick with me, I will never need a man to define or complete myself. It's not needed because I will be proud of myself whether I marry or not. But that's still a little ways off, my next goal is college, and I know I'll conquer that obstacle too.
My eyes wonder back to you now daddy as I walk to the microphone to say my final goodbyes: `To this years class of graduates, go into the world and make something of yourselves, do it for you, not your friends or parents or even your parent's parents, but for you. Do it for all the many cracks you have in your heart, from all the times it may have been broken. Do it to prove to everyone that you are somebody and you, no matter how small, make a difference in this world…'
So now I part from the microphone and walk to back to my seat, but my eyes still wonder to you daddy, because even though you don't realize it and I'll probably never have the guts to tell you, I got here without you. And you'll never know just how that realization made me feel. So I'm going to finish my journey now daddy, I bid you adu, I'm going to finish my journey, all without you.
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