Adventure Awaits, Dear Graduate
Whenever I meet a fellow military kid, I always ask how many high schools they attended. It sort of gauges how many moves you had overall. Me, I had two, which isn't so bad comparatively. Chaparral High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, for my Freshman and Sophomore years, and Hampton High in Hampton, Virginia, for my Junior and Senior years. I was a Cowboy and a Crabber. (Fun fact: Hampton High is one of only two schools in the country with a crabber for its mascot. You can't crush a crab!). It was hard to move - I'll spare you the details of my teenage trauma - but the kids at Hampton High were welcoming. They were used to having new students because that's where all the kids who lived on Langley Air Force Base went to school. Thankfully, there was a small cadre of us that went there as well. We all bonded and kind of stuck together. Shared experiences made it easy.
I'll never forget my high school graduation and the mixed emotions of excitement and dread. All the female students had to wear white dresses and white shoes to go under their white gowns. Male students had a uniform of black pants, black dress shoes, a white button-down, and a tie. My French teacher, Monsieur Soloman, was the adviser for our class, and he was a stickler for the dress code. We all lined up in the hallway of the Hampton Coliseum, waiting to hear every graduate's proverbial cue, Pomp and Circumstance. Then we marched like JROTC soldiers onto the main floor, then to our seats. One by one, we were called to get our golden ticket to freedom. It was equal parts liberating and scary as hell.
To celebrate this year's graduates, we have just what you need. The perfect card, check. College swag, check. Tote bags for weekend trips home, check. Fancy pens for their first job, check. And notebooks for class, check. Here are just a few of our favorite items to send your graduate off to school or the real world in style!
Items 1-8 are available at Penny Post. Items 9-15 are available at Red Barn Mercantile. 1. Congrats Grad! Card, $6; 2. Do Your Best Sticker, $3.50; 3. Sailor Fountain Pen, $225; 4. 50's Rock Student Rollerball, $68; 5. Lamy Aion Dark Green Fountain Pen, $89; 6. Circus Painted Notebook, $28; 7. Dusty Lavender Lined Journal, $28; 8. Appointed Lined Notebook, $25; 9. Adventure Pencil Set, $15; A-Frame Weekend Duffle, $210; 11. Collegiate Pillows, $192-$212; 12. Collegiate Glasses, $21; 13. Hip Hip Hooray Card, $6; 14. Navy Tidal Wave Travel Kit, $85; 15. Collegiate Dish Towels, $24.
It's our hope that your teenager looks back on high school fondly but looks forward to the future with even more excitement and anticipation. Adventure awaits, and may they enjoy every one!
