Graduation Means a Lot
A proud moment for Pedie
by Pedie Pederson
I was born in 1960, in Detroit
Lakes, Minnesota. And, when I was born, I could not breathe because
the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. As a result, the part
of my brain that controls motor skills was damaged. That’s what
caused my disability. I didn’t know this
until I was researching my book.
I would like to tell you about a big day in my life: the day I graduated from
high school.
When I was living in a children’s home in 1980, there were high school
kids that worked at the home. That spring some of them graduated from high school.
When I asked them what it was like to graduate, they told me that it was one
of the best days of their lives. I sometimes wondered if I would ever get to
graduate. In the spring of 1981 my dream came true.
I could not believe when I woke up that morning. It was the day that
I had dreamt of all of my life: the day that I was going to graduate.
It was a Sunday, and I went to church in the morning. After that was
done and I was on my way out, some of my friends came up to me and
said that they were proud of me. As soon as I got home, I got ready.
Then someone walked with me to school. It was really warm out.
When we got to school I went to the room to get my robe and cap on.
After everyone was ready, we all lined up. Then we all went to the
gym, went up to the stage and sat down in our seats. When I got to
my seat and sat down, it hit me that this was the last time that I
would be in school. I started to think about my time in school and
all the fun that I had experienced,
“As they handed [the diploma]
to me, I saw all of the people stand up and clap for me.
It was one of the happiest days of my life.”
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like the dances and the football
games and other games that I had gone to. I started to feel sad but
I knew that it was time for me to move on.
When it was my turn, I
went up and got my diploma. As they handed it to me, I saw all of
the people stand up and clap for me. It was one of the happiest days
of my life. ![]()
