The 2024-25 school year is winding down. Students are preparing to exit school buildings for summer vacation. This year’s fifth graders will be heading to middle school in the fall as sixth graders. The 2025 eighth graders will be heading to off to high school as ninth graders. The high school seniors will be leaving public education and heading into the big world. Class of 2025, the party starts now.
Life truly begins once you finish high school and head off into the real world as an adult. I know there are people who say high school was the best time of their life. These people have “Al Bundy Syndrome.” Al Bundy was the main character in the TV sitcom, Married With Children. Al lived his life after high school reminiscing about his football career in high school. Al’s fun stopped when he got married. Many people who say the best times of their life were in high school have adapted similar lifestyles to Al’s. Kudos to these individuals and those who want to follow that road. I say the party has just begun to the graduating seniors who want to try a different path.
If a person lives to be 80 years old, how can four years between the ages 14-18 be the best time of your life? True, high school is a very fun experience. This is the time you can act a fool and your actions are waved off as “you being a teenager.” But, look at the numbers. What do you do for the other 62 years if you live to age 80 and your best times were in high school? This is why I say the party is just starting. At 21 you are considered grown and can do everything except legally drink alcohol. This is the time to leave the shadow of your parents and find out who you are. This is the time to try different things to figure out what you want to do later in life. In short, time to party.
When I say party, I mean more than popping bottles and making it rain in some dimly lit club. I mean the fact that your opportunities are endless. A person walking out of high school has unlimited potential to be or do anything they can dream. This is something that the previous 12 years of public school should have prepared a graduating senior for. There are so many roads that a person can try out to see if that is the path they want to take in life. The choices range from going to college to simply getting a job and working. The great thing about life is that you can make a choice, and later change it to another one that fits you better.
Many graduating seniors will go off to college. This is perfect for those who are academically inclined. If a person thinks high school was fun, college puts high school to shame. College is where many people get their first taste of living away from their parents. Freedom from parental guidance can be too much for some students and they do poorly in classes. The cool thing about college is that if you mess up at a young age, you can always go back later in life. Many people go to college and find the love of their life and get married. In a sense, their party takes a different turn, but it is still a party.
The armed forces are a path many graduating seniors will choose. I know plenty of people who served in the armed forces and their experiences were filled with good times. Most served their tour of duty and found gainful employment after being discharged. The military has kept many graduating seniors’ party going by keeping them out of penal institutions.
Yes, class of 2025…the music is starting up. This is one party you should enjoy, for you are the creator of your entertainment. You have your entire life to figure it out.
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and not of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper or HT Group, LLC, its staff or management. “Being Frank” is a bi-weekly column exclusive to the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper.
