Yet for many parents, it's a painful contrast to their own coming to terms with middle age, altered expectations, and the empty nest. Teenagers don't have a monopoly on mixed emotions. Seniors are justifiably proud of their increasing independence and competence, but common sense doesn't always rule the day. It doesn't occur to him to consult a map. In the last year of high school, relationships with peers become ever more significant and precious.
Graduation is a bittersweet mixture of opportunity and letting go.
Seniors are justifiably sentimental. They know the world will never be quite the same.