{"id":24168,"date":"2025-12-05T13:24:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T13:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/?p=24168"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T13:39:04","slug":"the-other-side-of-graduation-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/?p=24168","title":{"rendered":"The other side of Graduation Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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As I walked onto the school grounds for our children\u2019s end-of-year graduation ceremonies, I heard the sweetest sound – a little girl asking her father,\u00a0\u201cDaddy, are you proud of me?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 My heart softened instantly. In that moment, I was reminded of the profound role a father plays. On her special day, the one thing she longed for most was\u00a0his approval, his presence, his affirmation<\/em>. And kudos to that dad –\u00a0for showing up, for letting her feel worthy, valued, and seen.<\/p>\n

Walking into this day, I expected nothing but elation. Our girls had done exceptionally well, and we couldn\u2019t be more proud. But what I didn\u2019t anticipate –\u00a0or perhaps temporarily forgot –\u00a0is that even on the most celebratory of days,\u00a0there is always another side.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our youngest daughter\u2019s class, a little boy hid behind his certificate, sobbing uncontrollably –\u00a0heartbroken that his parents weren\u2019t there to witness his achievement. While some children basked in the glow of their family\u2019s presence, his feeling of absence was impossible to ignore. My heart broke for him and a pull to nurture him and make it all better arose inside me. Yet in that moment,\u00a0a beautiful thing happened<\/em>. His classmates became teary in empathy for him, hugs were given and shared moments of sorrow were allowed in. All of a sudden\u00a0vulnerability was in the room<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0permission to feel<\/strong>\u00a0existed.<\/p>\n

In our oldest daughter\u2019s class,\u00a0alongside the cheering and the clapping were the quiet goodbyes: children leaving for new countries, moving on to high school, shifting paths. We celebrated, and we cried. I heard the girls telling the boys\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s okay to cry\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0when the boys couldn\u2019t contain the emotion that welled up.
\nBecause the truth is –\u00a0all moments and situations have\u00a0complex emotions<\/em>. Because joy and heartbreak often coexist in the same moment.<\/p>\n

I realised I hadn\u2019t prepare my girls for the complex emotions graduation brings (because I hadn\u2019t even prepared myself). It represents an\u00a0ending and a beginning\u00a0<\/strong>all at the same time. These layered, colourful moments brought me to this reflection:<\/p>\n

Parents, guardians, and loved ones –\u00a0our children need us!\u00a0<\/strong>They need our presence, our approval, our witnessing. Not perfection. Not grand gestures. Just\u00a0us<\/em>.
\nThese moments reminded me that childhood –\u00a0and parenthood –\u00a0are filled with emotional dualities: joy and sadness, beginnings and endings, pride and heartbreak often sitting side by side. What our children need from us is not the removal of these complex feelings, but the safety to experience them. When we\u00a0model vulnerability, give permission to feel, and honour the full spectrum of their emotions<\/em>, we teach them resilience, empathy, and emotional truth. Our presence matters –\u00a0but so does the way we hold their inner world.<\/p>\n

I also want to express my gratitude to\u00a0UFS\u00a0International<\/strong>\u00a0for a truly beautiful ceremony. I saw the joy and heartbreak in the teachers\u2019 eyes –\u00a0their cheers, their tears, their pride. You have a remarkable way of making every child feel seen, valued, and held. You create a campus that feels like family – A campus where children have empathy and acceptance of one another. What a gift!<\/p>\n

May this post encourage us to be present with those we love. And if you couldn\u2019t be at your child\u2019s graduation, perhaps there is still a small way to celebrate them at home –\u00a0a moment, a gesture, a simple acknowledgment that says,\u00a0\u201cI see you, and I\u2019m proud of you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Presence is powerful.\u2028 Let\u2019s choose it whenever we can.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consciously,
\nBronwyn<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\nAlso, follow and join the Conscious Living WhatsApp Channel for consistent updates, as well as insights and tools to support you on your journey.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VbAV9UQJkK7AqQKDyW25<\/a><\/em>\n<\/div>\n

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Bronwyn Russo
\nClinical Psychologist
\nM.A. Clin. Psych. (Curtin University, Australia)<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I walked onto the school grounds for our children\u2019s end-of-year graduation ceremonies, I heard the sweetest sound – a little girl asking her father,\u00a0\u201cDaddy, are you proud of me?\u201d\u00a0 My heart softened instantly. In that moment, I was reminded of the profound role a father plays. On her special day, the one thing she…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conscious-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24168"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24170,"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24168\/revisions\/24170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versionx.bronwynrusso.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}