Graduation

Graduation was an emotional time for everyone. It was a profound moment for me as I reflected on my senior year. I had lost people who I once considered friends, but I had gained so much more. My social skills had improved by leaps and bounds. I found confidence and a drive to better myself. I took my appearance into consideration and considered style and how I presented myself. There was an understanding of who I was, what I enjoyed, and I was happy with the man in the mirror. The friends that had replaced my old ones would leave me with unforgettable memories and I was forever grateful for the impact they had on my life. Mike and I were closer than ever, and he seemed to have undergone the same transformation I had. Maybe more considering I saw him get a few phone numbers from girls outside the group at graduation. I found out later they were girls he had started talking to during his lunch period.

Most of all, there was Emma. Watching her name get called and go across the stage to get her diploma, it still amazed me that I could call such a wonderful woman my girlfriend. Without her, none of this would have been possible. There were a lot of missteps to get where we were and some pain. The woman on stage was different than the one I had met months ago. We were still a bit twisted, enjoying our fun games and teasing, but I trusted her completely now. She had gone from a woman who downplayed and shunned intimacy to being one that craved it. She sometimes had a weird way of showing it, but I understood her. I don’t think many people could understand how weaving a story about how great sex was with another person was intimate, but I did. The way she looked at me, touched me, or was simply there was unmistakable. It was all for me—no—us. Her enjoyment was for me, and my enjoyment was for her.

Emma and I certainly weren’t the only couple graduating high school together, but I was confident that ours was the sort of relationship that would endure. I’m sure that our parents thought it was a young love that would fade and have us drift apart. It made sense considering the massive life phase shift we were about to embark on. College would offer us our first crack at true independence. We would change as we discover more about ourselves and our desires.

But I sensed that our relationship was different. There was an emotional maturity there that I think most other teen romances lacked. Maybe Emma and I were young and lacked life experience to fully comprehend love, but I felt we were ahead of the curve in a lot of ways. We had an open honesty I think a lot of people lacked. It was hard to feel embarrassed—at least the crippling kind—about bringing up something to her after admitting half the shit I’d told her over our time together. I was rather comfortable bringing things up with Emma, and she certainly wasn’t afraid to give me a piece of her mind if I did something she didn’t like. And if there was something we wanted to try or enjoyed, I never felt hesitant on bringing it up, even if it was embarrassing and knew it would get her to tease me a little.

So as we threw our hats in the air, hugging and kissing, I wasn’t afraid of the future and the storms we would inevitably face. Emma and I had built a solid ship. With her with me, I wasn’t afraid of what the future held.