It's that time of the year. Graduations are happening left and right. You go to support a close friend, a brother or sister, or even your own son or daughter as they graduate from a different school. I just recently attended a graduation at my old high school. I didn't have a brother or sister graduating, but since this class was only a year younger than me, I knew all of them and wanted to support them. Sitting there in the audience and watching the ceremony after having one year of college under my belt, I had some realizations. I think others can relate to these realizations, whether you are recent graduate, if you're a college student or if your schooling years are way behind you.

You realize how quickly time flies.

I thought high school would never end. Sure, it was difficult, but I never comprehended the fact that there was a whole life ahead of me once high school is over. The flashbacks were overwhelming as I sat and watched the ceremony. It still feels like yesterday that we were in science class together, building mini rockets.

You realize this is an end but also a beginning.

Watching the graduates turn their tassels, I couldn't help but get a little emotional. Somehow, turning that tassel was so much more meaningful. It was more like watching each senior turn the page to a new chapter in their life. It is a bitter sweet moment, overwhelmed by memories, but filled with so much excitement for their futures. Honestly, they probably know as little about what they want to do with their futures as we do. That's okay because that makes their journeys just as surprising to us as it is to them.

You realize how far you've come.

Similar to the kind of introspection New Year's creates, I found that happening as the graduation ceremony came to a close. They were ready to begin a new chapter of their lives as they walked out in their single file line. As they begin their new chapter, the question rose in my mind: "How far have I come?" Watching friends conclude their high school career begs us to wonder who we have become ourselves, who we still want to be and how that has changed in only a year.

Graduations are increasingly a time of reflection. Sitting in the audience (or even standing there as a graduate), you realize how time flies, how this is just the beginning and how you are changing into the person you want to become.