Sometimes the happiest of times can also be among the saddest.

The Open Door School's graduation Wednesday was a day of celebration but it was also bittersweet for the graduates as they had to say goodbye to friends and teachers they had known much of their lives.

To roaring applause and a standing ovation from the crowd of a few hundred, eight students proudly walked down the aisle in their purple caps and gowns.

The 2004 graduates are Donald Lee Cooper and Nathan Walter Holbrook from the Dawson-Bryant district, Patricia Ann Ellis from Fairland, Jimmy Fields from Ironton and Elizabeth Marie Laber, Andrew Michael Murnahan, William Jarrett Osborne and Sarah LeeAnn Turvey from Rock Hill.

"The students before you today worked very hard to be where they are at," said Principal Jeff Saunders. "We are very fortunate to be able to give them the recognition they deserve."

Each of the students spoke about their experiences and talked about friends old and new. Many were left at a loss for the words to describe their emotions.

Donald Cooper couldn't articulate how he felt, but his ear-to-ear smile pretty much said it all.

"I will miss basketball the most," the star for the Open Door team said. "And my coach, too."

Andy Murnahan agreed that saying goodbye has been the hardest part.

"I feel okay," Murnahan said with a sigh. "I will miss all my friends the most."

Andy's grandfather, Don, agreed that it was a day mixed with joy and sorrow.

"It is kind of sad because he has been here 21 years. He came when he was just a baby," Don Murnahan said. "It is kind of sad that he has to leave but he is looking forward to going to Tri-State Industries."

To make this graduation possible, all the teachers and staff deserve a tremendous amount of credit, he said.

"The people that work at his school are No. 1," Don Murnahan said. "There are no better anywhere."