Just two words: Graduation Day. Well, add two more for exact definition: high school. A turning point in most lives when, with the tossing of mortarboards into the air, adulthood came barreling back down with a vengeance. The times we yearned, even agonized, over wanting to grow up and shirk the restraints of being kids, yet here we all were, standing on the doorstep of that dream, and some of us were scared.
Suddenly, all the carefree moments of growing up and coasting through teen-age years took on a serious stance as we reluctantly began to leave it all behind. The expectations were for us to plan out our lives and focus on what our future passion would be. Harsh reality set in, accompanied with fear of the unknown We experienced issues of what lies ahead and likely felt forced at times with trying to figure out the right path to take. There was no longer a chance of running for the protective cover of childhood. This…was it, sink or swim. With much trepidation, the steps across the bridge to so-called maturity became overwhelming, to say the very least. It was the turning point into becoming responsible adults. The struggle was real.
Last goodbyes to high school friends was a difficult part which most didn’t see coming. So many were lost during the Vietnam War along with faces who drifted away to whatever and wherever life took them. We took our idealism along to college, employment or on a quest to start a new life elsewhere. In a blink, the familiarities started to disappear and resided between pages in a yearbook, most noted with “Good Luck” scribbled across photographs of faces we would never see again.
It’s difficult to categorically state what the real end of childhood is, let’s face it, it’s subjective. The legal definition stating “a person under eighteen years of age” certainly does not apply to everyone. There are those who, due to circumstances, are mature beyond their years at 13 or 14 as well as those who refuse to grow up, well into their middle years. As such, the duration of childhood varies.
Overall, the sad ending to childhood takes place when there’s no longer the ability to enjoy life’s little things. A concept that will last as long as the desire to have fun remains and there’s a pause to treasure these fleeting moments.
