My Graduation day 👩‍🎓🥹

I was so excited for graduation, but I was also a little scared of my emotions. I kept wondering if I was going to cry because it felt like such a huge moment. Surprisingly, I didn’t cry (which I think is a good thing because I don’t know if I could’ve handled the tears 😭), but I definitely felt so many emotions throughout the day.

Getting ready for graduation was one of my favourite parts. I wore my sixth class hoodie with baggy jeans and some really cool jewellery that made the outfit feel like me. I also had my hair done especially for graduation week. I chose long, beautiful black French curl braids, and I loved how they looked. It felt like I was getting ready for a really important day because I was.

Taking pictures was a little difficult because my phone decided to give up on me and died, so I couldn’t take as many photos as I wanted. Thankfully, my friends did their best to capture memories, and my teacher helped too. One of my favourite parts was seeing all my friends dressed up and wearing their leavers shirts I made a really cool Spider-Man design . Everyone was signing each other’s shirts, and it was honestly such a special feeling seeing all the messages from my friends — even the third classers were signing mine, which was so funny.

Before the graduation ceremony started, our teachers brought all of sixth class down to the junior infants’ yard so we could see where it all began before we left. For a lot of people, it was a really nostalgic moment because they had started their journey there as junior infants. I only joined the school in second class, so it wasn’t quite the same for me, but it was still really special seeing everyone remember where they started.

Me and my entire friend group went into the little junior infants’ playhouse and sat together. We started singing “I’ll Always Remember You” from Hannah Montana, and honestly, it was such an emotional moment. It was sad, but in the best way — one of those moments where you know you’ll remember it forever. Soon after, we stopped singing and went back to laughing, joking, and enjoying our last moments together.

Then, because sixth class boys will always be sixth class boys, all the boys decided to prank us. While we were still inside the tiny playhouse, they suddenly stormed in shouting. Everyone started screaming because the playhouse was so small and there were so many people packed inside. It was terrifying for about two seconds, but then it was absolutely hilarious. It was one of those silly, unforgettable moments that made the day even more special. Honestly, that was probably one of the best days of my entire time at the school.

The graduation ceremony was such a happy and exciting moment. We walked into the hall to a really upbeat song — I think it was “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, the one from Despicable Me — which made the atmosphere even more cheerful. We all sat at the very front of the hall while the younger classes watched us graduate.

Because I was part of the student council, I got called up first with the other student council members. There were six of us: three girls and three boys. We each received our student council certificates and gifts, and then we took a photo with our principal. She is genuinely one of the sweetest principals I’ve ever had. She has always been so kind and supportive.

After that, everyone in sixth class started going up to receive their graduation certificates. Our certificates were framed pictures with our names at the top, the school crest, a poem written by the fifth classers, and a photo of us. Seeing everyone receive theirs made the moment feel so real. After we all got our certificates, we stood up and sang our graduation song, “Count on Me.” That was probably one of the moments where I came closest to crying because it really hit me that we were leaving a place where we had made so many memories.

At the end, we threw our graduation hats into the air. Of course, I made sure to get mine back because I wanted to keep it. We all made our own hats using black paper and yarn, so mine was a special memory that I didn’t want to lose.

There weren’t any speeches, but walking back to the classroom afterwards was such a happy moment. Everyone was smiling and celebrating, and I honestly couldn’t believe we had just graduated. Seeing our sixth class photos displayed on the graduation wall made it feel even more real. I looked at my photo and couldn’t believe that I was actually part of that wall.

Back in the classroom, we cleaned everything up and took lots of photos on the school tablet (which my teacher still hasn’t given us yet, by the way 😭). My fifth class teacher told me she was very proud of me and that I had a beautiful smile. My sixth class teacher, who was basically my Miss Honey, told me he was very proud of me too. My principal also said she knew I was destined for great things, which was such a lovely thing to hear.

My graduation day was made special by my teachers, my friends, and all the memories I made throughout my years at the school. I’m excited but also nervous for secondary school, but that’s a whole new chapter that I’ll talk about another time. For now, I’ll always remember my graduation day as the day I closed one chapter and got ready to start another. 🎓✨