Getting Ready to Graduate

Yesterday I took Adriana to buy a dress for graduation.  She needed my assistance because her mother is taking her one day off to attend the graduation and other extended family members were unavailable.  When she asked me, I couldn’t help remembering my own graduation.  All the “cool” girls wore hot pants, which no one saw, of course, under those long robes!  It was, nonetheless, an assertion of identity and independence on a day wrapped in the traditions of the past.  So when she asked me to take her shopping, I knew how important a graduation dress can be.

Adriana is the mother of two small children.  She is also the first girl in her family to graduate from high school.  It has been difficult, but, after the birth of her second child, she was determined to graduate.  She is also clear that she wants to be a nurse and is already registered at the local community college where she will begin her four year program.  Unlike her older siblings, Adriana was born in the United States, so with hard work and determination, nothing stands between her and her dreams.  This is a gift that she does not take for granted.

So, with great anticipation and some trepidation we went shopping, looking for just the right dress in a particular shade of pink.  And even though it is “not this year’s color” we found it!  Then we went to lunch to celebrate.  Next week at graduation, Adriana will confidently step forward (In her pink dress that no one can see) and proudly lead the pledge of allegiance.  And when she does, it will be an assertion of identity and independence as she steps boldly into a new future for herself and her family.