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It’s graduation time in Carter County and Northeast Tennessee.

Elizabethton and Cloudland High seniors graduate tonight and the week before Hampton High seniors received their diplomas. Unaka and Happy Valley High seniors graduate Saturday. Graduates at nearby Milligan University and East Tennessee State University have already received their diplomas and soon will embark on a new chapter in their lives.

It is the season of pomp and circumstance. From pre-kindergarten to high school — and for some, there is a college ceremony — that fills the May calendar with a sense of accomplishment. Each milestone that is achieved is celebrated by family and friends at cookouts, parties, senior trips and the actual commencement exercises.

For high school graduates, it has been a long journey. The pride for so many parents and grandparents is real.

They have been a part of this long journey that had many twists and turns, triumphs and tragedies, and in some situations, utter disbelief that their offspring completed the coursework necessary to walk across the stage.

The relief for many of these graduates is that they no longer have homework or have to get up early for that Monday morning biology class.

The joy of sleeping in late or hanging out with your friends with no further academic responsibilities can make the dream of having a carefree life a very tempting proposition. Others trade the 8 a.m. first bell for a time clock at that summer job they were forced to take on to pay their car note or cell phone bill.

Whatever the path is immediately following graduation is usually short-lived and a mere detour to the longer journey of starting a career and settling down with “Mr. or Miss Right.”

The memories made in school should last, along with the friendships and shared experiences.

Unfortunately for some — if not many — there is a lot of maturation that occurs during our school years that is often forgotten for many reasons.

Peer pressure, bullying and often a lack of self-confidence are just a couple of the challenges that our youth are dealing with in today’s schools. This bullying is tied to low self-esteem, and all of this unseemly behavior is overshadowing all of the fun in school and even classwork.

School is harder today than it used to be. But in the end, high school is the magic part of the journey that is the big stepping stone to advancing one’s education.

Community colleges, undergraduate universities and colleges, along with graduate school and professional education choices, continue to be available for a portion of the select few who have the resources, drive, determination and dream of being successful.

Even a small group of these individuals fall short of their intended goals because of distractions and temptations that sidetrack their career paths.

The ones who see their way to completing the educational track usually have developed a career path that gets them on the way to becoming an adult.

Their paths of achieving a diploma or a degree become harder, but not impossible. The personal drive to succeed is the difference-maker for some who stumbled or were delayed along the way.

Hopefully, a successful life awaits each graduate — more schooling, the military, a job or perhaps a summer off before stepping into the next chapter of their life.

It is amazing to know that you have made some friends that will last for a lifetime. These are the good old days — cherish them.

Our best wishes to the Class of ’25 — and good luck as you begin a new chapter in your life.