This is the week that I share a column I wrote when my oldest graduated from high school. I still can’t believe that was 22 years ago.

Our three boys, like so many sons and daughters who finished up their high school years, were not star athletes, class officers or even high academic achievers, but students who accomplished so much by just being themselves.

They made their parents proud by simply working their tails off in school. Maybe they also squeezed in a job or helped around the house. Free time was rare, the juggling at times tedious, but they managed to pull it off.

I was ready to share the column that offers some simple advice to graduates as they move to their next chapter in life. Stuff like: Make sure you say please and thank you and take your hat off when you go into a restaurant. You can never go wrong having good manners. 

The first thing people look at are your shoes. Wear clean underwear. Share. Listen. It’s all right to cry. Don’t be stubborn. Ask for directions. Try to give back. Treat people the way you’d want to be treated. Enjoy what you do.

Look up more. Understand that the person in front of you is more important than your phone. 

Nothing wrong with any of that. Sometimes we forget about the basics. 

I also shared images of passing years, noting that at graduation my son towered over his Grandma; was taller than his Mom and we were eye-to-eye with each other. In the years that followed I actually had to tilt my head up to see into his eyes. 

But as our children now have their own children, and I look into the eyes of my granddaughter Catherine who at seven seems ready to challenge the world, the cousin she still calls “Baby Evan” who at three already has an independent streak that I envy, and his three-month-old brother Colby, whose smile fills his face as he reaches for my finger, I can’t help but wonder the unexpected challenges they face in these trying times.

I know today’s graduates are more eager than ever to move on with life.

That’s understandable.

We are often reminded that life is about dealing with challenges. And our ability to battle through adversity is the very thing that builds up our resilience to tackle them in the future.

I urge the graduates to take a moment and think back and recognize the valuable lessons of your school career. Nothing should diminish those accomplishments.

We’re told that resiliency is an important key to success. It’s rooted in our ability to steer through everyday adversity and rebound from bigger setbacks. But they provide essential life lessons that will sustain them for years to come.

Not the knowledge built in the classroom; but the awareness gained – often the hard way – in growing up.

I used to think that maybe I could offer graduates some pearls of wisdom. A quote from some Greek philosopher. Perhaps a biblical passage that they can pull out during troubled times. Words from a sage like Robert Frost about choosing between two roads. A quip from Groucho Marx. What Ward would tell Wally and the Beaver. But those would only pale as so many students seem to already know what’s important in life.

Congratulations class of 2025! It’s time to celebrate all your accomplishments in the most traditional fashion: the playing of “Pomp and Circumstance,” the handing out of diplomas and the sharing of fist bumps, high fives from classmates and the hugs from teary-eyed parents who couldn’t be prouder.

Barry Lewis is a longtime journalist and author who lives with his wife Bonnie in the Town of Neversink. He can be reached at      barrylewisscdemocrat@gmail.com.