Oldies but Goodies - The Graduate

16th of June, 1983. We sat in the kitchen of the little house that was just for the higher grades. One of us sat in the open window that faced the path coming from the main school building. He held a champagne bottle in his hand and every time someone came walking over from the school he yelled out "Finished? Finished!!!!!!"
It was the day of our oral exams.
School was over for good. Around here we didn't have official graduation ceremonies. No speeches, no diplomas, no caps and gowns. We had marched through the school, one half of us dressed in mourning clothes, the other half doing samba in the hallways to show we were both sad and happy. We spontaneously decided to have a small book burning of old school books and some of the boys set up a tombstone for our (at least) thirteen years of school, a stone some of us used to visit each year on the 16th of June, so they could have a small reunion dinner afterwards. And of course we had a party in the gym.

The little house doesn't exist anymore, there's a more modern and bigger building now. I'm almost sure the tombstone doesn't exist anymore, either. Every time I come by my school (at least once a week) I wonder about that, one of the these days I'll have to walk into that yard and take a look.
And almost exactly 33 years later our Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge is about graduation gifts. I don't remember what I would have liked to have, I don't remember what others might have received as gifts.
This, however, are some jewelry ideas from our members. As always there's more to see if you click the link above.
What do you remember about your graduation?

1 and 4 Cat's Wire
2 and 6 Jewelry Art by Dawn
3 and 7 MC Stoneworks
5 Violetmoon's Corner