Tassels and Mortar Boards

First off, a poll of our readers: Raise your hand if you've attended the high school graduation of your first-cousin-once-removed.  Now look around the room.  At best, your the only one in the room with your hand raised, and more likely I suspect nobody in the room raised their hand.  We, however, had that pleasure and more as we attended the graduation ceremony of P's high-school alma mater Freeman Academy.

A few things probably distinguished this ceremony from the ones you may have attended.  It took nearly an hour and a half — for 10 graduates.  It involved what was basically a sermon, scripture readings, several prayers, two choir performances and a video of the senior class, starting from Elemetary school (baby pictures included).  In visual appearance, it was some mixture of prom, a wedding and traditional graduation.  All the graduates sat on the stage the entire time, except when they were performing in a 4 part choir, which sounded pretty good.  What makes this event even more unique, is that many in the audience aren't even related to the graduates, they just come to provide support to the students and families in the community (and because there are no other entertaining events scheduled in the area).

A significant percentage of the ceremony was spent on each individual graduate, providing insight on the personality of the individual and on the group as a whole. It was interesting to see how a rural population celebrates its youth, faith and community in general.