05/12/2026
Beautifully written by Katie Hoge! ❤️
Dear Graduate,
The day you have anxiously been awaiting is soon approaching. The light at the end of the tunnel, you can almost see it, Graduation Day, FREEDOM!
And although we are all pumped about this huge milestone, not everyone is feeling that same level of enthusiasm. Although you see....DONE. The loved ones that have been by your side see...memories.
I write this from the perspective of a loved one who is vested in getting you to this point. Who has been with you through thick and thin, through footed pajamas and the fear of the dark, and through the good times and the teenage years. The people who made sure you stayed on the right path. Family, friends, teachers. All the ones who are so extremely proud of you.
And although you are getting the itch to get the heck out of here. The people I represent don't feel the exact same way. You see the last 6,750 days or so was simply not enough time. Those days went way too fast for us. We tried to get our money's worth from those days and pack in as much as we could possibly pack in, but we are still sitting here wondering if we should have done more for you, could have done more with you, wished we had more time together.
You see you have been our whole world, and we vividly remember getting you ready for the first day of school, tying your shoes, making your lunch, helping you to write your name, tucking you in bed at night, and although that seems like a very, very long time ago to you, to us, it was just the other day.
For the last 18 years of your life, family members, teachers, and friends have poured everything into you, carefully molding you and guiding you into what you are today. Your biggest fans have been working tirelessly to prepare you for this day and have equipped you with everything you need to slay the day.
And we think we have done a stellar job, I mean look at you!!! You are ready!!! Ready for the hardest and longest and most important and complicated homework assignment that you will have to answer every day for the rest of your life, the question of...Who do you want to be today? You have the power to be great and you have the power to be average.
And let me let you in on a little secret. It does not take a lot to go from average to great. It is quite simple. It’s just putting in a little more effort than everyone else around you does, that will easily set you apart from others.
You see now it is on you, to get you where you want to go. You will now have a new responsibility of pushing yourself every single day to get everything you deserve out of life because our daily job has now come to a sudden halt. And your biggest supporters will now have a new role. We will no longer be standing by your side, but behind you supporting all the decisions that you make from this day forward.
So, these last few days before graduation, please be delicate on us and let us soak these beautiful moments in because we will be a little lost without you in the days to follow graduation. We knew when we signed up for this gig that the goal was to make you strong, independent, fierce, young adults, but it still doesn’t make it any easier on us.
So, please hug us as long as we need, for as many times as we want and when you walk across that stage don’t rush through this event, please slow down just a teenie bit, and let us cherish this occasion as we reflect on all the memories that have come before this day and allow us to think forward to what lies ahead...And go be great, you were created for it!
- Katie Hoge
Congratulations Class of 2026! 🤩🎓🥳
