The funny thing about major milestones in one’s life is you feel as if they take an eternity to achieve. But once it’s over, one wonders how the time could have flown by so quickly.

That was certainly on the hearts and minds of seniors and their loved ones this past weekend as hundreds of young men and women took their first steps into adulthood.

Across the board, the one thing the majority of students say when being interviewed by The Tribune’s reporters about their feelings on gradating is that the feeling is bittersweet.

Students are excited to start a new chapter in their lives, but they are also scared or sad to leave their friends and family behind.

As most of us know from having experienced this milestone ourselves, everything will be OK. Going to college or starting a career will take these students out of their comfort zones and it will be scary at times, but it gets better.

We at The Tribune are proud of each and every student who worked hard throughout his or her academic career in Lawrence County and have all the confidence they will go on to do great things. We look forward to seeing what kinds of contributions the class of 2015 will make to this world to make it a better place.