Video: NMHS Graduation 2011

On Tuesday, New Milford High School held its 50th graduation, as the class of 2011 received their diplomas at BergenPAC in Englewood. 

Below is a poem written by senior Julianne Maniago, courtesy of NMHS teacher Jane Swarctz:

When we walk out of this school for the last time as students before maybe returning one day as accomplished alumni, all that will be left behind is a stray post-it fluttering to the bottom of an empty locker and initials and immature profanities etched on desktops.

Words we couldn't say still lingering in the alcoves and the stairwells.  High school secrets evaporating into the dank air of the cafeteria. The chorus room filling with new voices and piecing together harmonies.

The fields stepped on by reluctant students sporting new sneakers.  Badminton courts conquered by new opponents.  Our names scribbled in textbooks and collections of plays we read, collecting dust in the wooden cabinets bolted in corners of classrooms where we used to sit, gazing at the clock, waiting for the next minute to pass and the next and the next, unaware that time would race by faster than we could ever imagine.

We all lie when we say we won't miss this place, I know it. 

I think what we'll miss the most is the simplicity of it all.  The banality of routines and schedules and moving through the motions. The familiarity of everyone and everything and every street, pizza place and every face working behind the counter at CVS.

We will miss the fact that our worlds don't exceed vast borders. We'll miss the comfort in the silence that never proves itself to be awkward. We'll long for the easiness of being able to say, "lets go here, lets go there," on nothing but a sudden desire to fill up time.  

We'll crave the capability of procrastinating on every last assignment and still pulling through with an A.  And, most importantly, the people.  The constant friction of our personalities perpetually creating more tangles and intricacies in relationships that make our heads pound.  Ironically, even in that, there is simplicity. 

In a few months, we all embark on new journeys.  Journeys on which comfort will be harder to find and a friend will not always be on hand.  This is not to say that the journey will not be an exciting one.  The magnitude of our excitement will be immeasurable. 

Our days will be unpredictable and not one soul will know our story with one glance at our faces. They were not there for the defining moments in our lives, but they will be present for the new ones.  We will encounter new faces embarking on new journeys themselves, and in that similar sense of discomfort, we'll find solace.  We will all be bubbling with excitement and uncertainty.  The unknown is always a scary thing, but I know it will be completely and utterly fantastic.

And when we return home, we will return to the simplicity and comfort we will always know and love.  We will realize how much we missed it (because I know some of you are still in denial) and we will breathe in the shrunken borders and the simple silence and the pizza from down the street and the smiles as wide as coat hangers.  

And it will be worth it. 

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