Graduations, however exciting they may be for the graduates, are often very boring.

This post, however, is most definitely not.

Just a few days ago, I finally graduated from high school.  The moment I had been impatiently waiting for the entire year has arrived and passed, at last.  This means I can now wholeheartedly look forward to the future and all its traveling and adventuring possibilities, and it is so enticing.  I am incredibly excited for all the unexpected in my future, however weird that may sound, and also to just see how my life plays out and if I will achieve everything I aspire to be, or travel as much as I hope to.

In high school, it was almost like I was stuck, surrounded by people who couldn’t see past the 12 years of public school we all had to suffer through, nor the few small towns in New Hampshire that we live in.  I had to abide by my parents’ rules and philosophies of life which totally and completely oppose everything I believe in, and I had to take classes on things I absolutely despise and which I will never use again.  (Namely, physics….ugh)

But now that those twelve years of my life being stuck in the same, boring little town are over, I have everything to look forward to.  And I’m free.  I’ll be studying and doing the things that I love most in life, and once I actually get to college in the next month or so, I can also be living on my own terms and not my family’s.  Its such a breath of fresh air, and I plan to savor it as long as possible.  But the best is yet to come!

Anyways, back to the whole graduation topic!

A month ago, I had watched my older sister graduate from college.  And now, I was the one graduating along with the other seven hundred or so students in my class.  When your the graduate in this situation, you’ve got to admit you feel kind of like a badass, being the center of attention and hearing your name called amidst screams from your friends and family as you walk across the stage. But at the same time, you’ve also got to admit, graduations are very long and boring.  So the big question is….how do you make them a little more exciting?

We found quite a few ways.  Here’s a few.

Throw around some beach balls

Or some rubber ducks.  Or blow-up dolls.  Or balloons.  We had all of these, and I am more than positive they exist at every high school graduation.  It’s almost guaranteed, it’s a classic and also a very good way to occupy your attention span while 700 names are being read by a very monotone voice.

But they check you on the way in, you say? HAVE NO FEAR.

Since we were in an arena, not our actual school, we could only go in one entrance and the security guard checked us on our way in to make sure we didn’t have any blow-up stuff under out graduation robe.  But that didn’t stop us, of course.  I counted six or seven beach balls bouncing around, along with a rubber duck, and some balloons.  Who knows where they stuffed them on their way in, but it doesn’t even matter because we got some entertainment out of it.

Scream at the top of your of lungs

Just do it.  Even if some grumpy old man sitting next to you tells you it’s rude (it’s totally not…), just do it.  While you’re sitting in your chair, whether it be in the audience or among the graduates, when you see one of your friends take those very important steps across the stage to receive their diploma, scream their name as loud as you can.  Or just simply scream excitedly.  It not only makes them feel cool and loved and very badass, but it also adds a little fun to your time sitting hearing names you’ve never even heard of before being called one after the other.  It’s a win-win situation here, people.  Forget the old man’s grumpy ramblings and have some fun.

By the way an old man actually did tell me and my sisters that at my older sister’s graduation…..I replied saying I’d be super excited if someone shouted my name when I walked up.  WHICH IS TRUE! I’m pretty sure anybody would be.

Add some originality to the uniformity

Aka, paint or decorate the top of your graduation cap!  At other graduations I’ve seen that not many people do it but a good majority did at my graduation.  Mine, for example, had the words ROLL TIDE in big, red letters.  Anybody from the South of the US knows exactly what that means, but for the rest of you clueless people or those who just don’t live in the US, it’s a saying for fans of the University of Alabama’s (my future college’s) sports teams.  Or, if you are in the town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, it’s a regular greeting for random people on the street.  Either way I love it and it was perfect for my cap.

Don’t forget to bring your phone

Especially not your smartphone.  You could be getting some much needed tweeting or facebooking or just plain internet surfing at this time or even texting your best friend who’s three rows behind you. Or, like me, you could be checking for updates on all your favorite travel blogs, and also seeing if any others date all the way back to high school like yours does.  Is that weird? I don’t think so….

So there you have it, just a few ramblings of mine on the end of high school which I am oh so excited about, and also some ways to make boring events a little more fun and interesting.  Graduations should be exciting after all, not boring, drawn-out affairs, so make the most of this special event and don’t forget your phone, a beach ball, and a really cool looking grad cap.