6/08/2016

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

6 comments:

  1. Perfect graduation gifts. Beautiful work created by Cat, Dawn, and Carina.

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    1. Not to forget your own work. I love that locket with the dragonfly!

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    2. I second that about including your own work, Michele!

      Let's see, my graduation included caps, gowns, the diploma presentation and boring speeches. After graduation, there was a class party (and probably some alcohol involved). We stayed up all night and went out for breakfast the next morning. The best part was the graduation trip. We all got on a plane and flew to Disneyland for an all night stay in the park and flew home the next morning.

      Cat, I was surprised to read about the champagne. That would get a kid (even one who was graduating) kicked off the school grounds here. Our legal drinking age is 21, so seeing students openly drinking on campus isn't something you'd see here.

      And, before I forget, any of the submissions for this Oldies challenge would be a wonderful grad gift!

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    3. Yeah, our drinking age is 18, and (except for me who still had another week) everyone was 18.
      There were only a few bottles for the whole crowd of about 120 and that was more a symbol of freedom than to get drunk.

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  2. P.S. While those Octopus earrings didn't end up being a graduation gift, they were purchased as a Mother's Day present instead!

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