End of High School Rituals

[jeffreyab]

I basically celebrated ending high school by sending off my upgraded summer school marks so I could get into university.

I skipped the graduation ceremony because it was sometime in November and I had better things to do that weekend with my limited time and esp. money.

Since then I have noticed that this minimalist approach is not at all common and that many people take part in elaborate ceremonies involving limos, gowns and ritual deflowerings ala "American Pie."

So my question is how did you mark the end of high school?

Comments

[happyfunpaul.livejournal.com]

Graduation was on a Sunday in early June (1986), not that long-- maybe a week or two-- after classes ended. The high school itself sponsored an all-night (alcohol-free) party that night, probably to keep us out of trouble elsewhere. Music, dancing, video-watching, lots of chatting and yearbook signing. It was fun to depart just as the other classes were arriving at school in the morning (on a Monday).

It was the last time most of us in the Class of '86 saw each another.

[soccer-mom56.livejournal.com]

Who can remember that far back?

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Dredging my memory... hmm - I did the ceremony thing with gown because my grandmother was coming. I wore the "boy" color (dark blue) because I look terrible in white and anyway don't much like white. I had fun with my friends. I think probably I had some kind of gathering at my folks house but it wasn't a big bash. I did go to other people's parties as I recall. No limo.

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Now - when I got my BA after 13 years on and off - that was a party! People flew in from all over. We called it "mewBAcon" ;-)

[encorecrazay.livejournal.com]

Did the high school graduation thing for my parents and grandmother, nearly tripped on the top step. Went home and finished packing because we moved out of town the next day. Hardly saw any of my friends after that and in 6 years, I was the only one still alive (the Vietnam years).

College graduations was even worse, thousands of graduates in a football stadium wearing nylon gowns (I used mine as a Halloween costume for years). When is was time to receive my B.S., we all stood up the president said something like "I now confer on you the degree ..." and "you may now sit down". Went out of dinner with my folks at a hotel restaurant on the way home, then left the day after for my first job.

Getting my master's at UBC was cool, wore the real gowns, I was the first of the Master of Science graduates, was introduced, kneeled in front of the President, was tapped on the head, stood and bowed to the Chancellor and walked off the stage. Before and after the ceremonies, there were processions to and from the arena. Went out for a nice steak by myself, flew back to Calgary where I was teaching from Vancouver the next day.

[andpuff.livejournal.com]

Up here in the Great White Weird (That would be Ontario) we had, at the time, two high school graduations. Like yours, ours, both of them, happened in the fall.

The first was for grade twelve -- where I wore a floor length gown, went to an all night party, got very drunk, complained about Phil Stover beating me out for class poet by three votes (ocassionally, I complained about it to Phil) piled into a classic car (big old 1950's something or other) with eleven other people and one guy in the trunk and ended up with three people passed out on the floor of my apartment. (I moved out of the house at the beginning of grade 12)

Now for grade 13 grad -- which they recently ditched in favour of the standard four years -- I was studying Forestry in Thunderbay and refused to spend money I didn't have to fly back even though they called and asked me to be validictorian.

When I finally graduated from university, I did the cap gown etc then the ex's mother took me out to lunch at the press club. I seem to remember that the food was pretty bad. *g*

[mycrazyhair.livejournal.com]

Mark the end of high school? We had our graduation ceremony in June, I know that because it was insanely hot. Wearing a wool skirt was probably not my best decision ever.

Our formal dance happened way before graduation (a month or two). That's when we did our limo thing (not that I rented one, but I know people who did).

Strangely enough, one of my friends posted today about going to a "prom" on Saturday. Apparently, somebody had missed his prom in high school, so he rented a hall and held his own this year. He sold tickets to various folks, including my friend.

Details here, if you're interested.

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

I went to the ceremony; that was about it.

[pi3832.livejournal.com]

I and the assistant vice principle moved a stack of chairs out of the way, then went into a closet where he pulled my diploma out of a box, handed it to me and said, "Congratulations."

For college I called from my brother's house (about a 1000 miles from campus) to check my grades to make sure I had graduated. (Minimum to graduate is a 2.0. I had a 2.001.) I later picked up my diploma from some secretary in the registration office. Same thing as high school: she pulled it out of a box, handed it to me and said, "Congratulations."

[sphinxgurl.livejournal.com]

I did nothing special.
My year was the first year that they decided to move the ceremony from June to October, the weekend after thanksgiving. I was away at Uni and didn't want to spend the money, or the 12 hour bus ride to go home twice in one month, so I went home for thanksgiving and missed my graduation. I kind of regret that since my friend said it was really good, and our valedictorian (a guy i had a crush on) really gave a great speech.

My uni graduation was low-key too. My mom didn't even show up (she's paranoid) and my bf at the time came and left before I even saw him. i had some third cousin or something graduate at the same time as me, so I went to his barbeque the family was giving...met relatives I hadn't known before.
Then I went to a friends party where we sat around chatting about stuff that matters (we were classics majors, and some philosophy students were there too).

I did actually try to throw myself my own party - but it was a complete failure.

Now when I graduate in Decemeber, I hope to have another party - maybe I'll just invite ppl out for dinner or something. There is no convovcation though, so if I want to walk down the aisle for that I'll have to wait til june.

[elizilla]

I wanted to go to the wild parties you hear about, but I only got invited to one party. That's OK, I figured, I would hook up with some other kids there and go with them to wherever they went next.

But at the last minute, my mom decided to throw a party for me at the house. So I had to go there instead. I invited some other kids, but none of them showed up. It was all relatives, and not very many of them, and I had to chat politely and pose for pictures in my graduation gown with my grandmother and various aunts and uncles.

Eventually I got out of these and went over to the one party I'd been invited to. When I got there all the kids were gone, the only people left were my friend's parents and aunts and uncles and whatnot. My friend had gone off in a carful of other kids, and his mom didn't really know where to, so I couldn't catch up with them. I never saw that friend again.

There's one person in fandom who was in my class in high school. Shark. He's the only one I've seen since graduation.

[grace-040883.livejournal.com]

I went to graduation - didn't fall, thank god. Everyone threw their hats at the end in true "saved by the bell" fashion however I couldn't because my friend had hairpinned mine to my head. Afterwards I went to a party and when a friend and I decided that that was getting old we jetted into strathroy and got drunk with some pot heads after drivng down the sidewalk on a side street. :P Wild child lol

[gordon-rose.livejournal.com]

I went and worked for the military for the summer. And once I was done ... I don't think I went back to school at all. Too busy with university, getting a real job, and getting married ... and then getting hooked into taht really weird gaming group. ;)