Congratulations Class of 2018: time travel through the world and events that shaped the journey

It’s a nostalgic time for hundreds of parents across the Snoqualmie Valley, as well as millions across the country: high school graduation.

It’s that time of year when parents reflect on how time has seemingly flown by, wondering how they could possibly have an 18-year old graduate.

Social media feeds are flooded with side-by-side photos of that first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school. Graduation parties are planned. The college farewell looms in the back of many parents’ minds.

Clichés no longer seem so sappy or overused as graduation draws near.

I’ve been through this three times before and wish I could offer words of wisdom – something to make it a little less emotional, especially for those preparing for their first child to put on a cap and gown.

I’ll offer this: they’ll be back. They grow and mature, but home is still home. They’ll want their favorite meal each time they return during school breaks or come home for the weekend just because they feel like it.

They’ll always keep hugging you. The “love you mom/dad” won’t stop being uttered.

Remember this: they come home because of you and what you worked 18 years to build for them. And they’ll take your years of hard work with them on the journey – ready to face those next steps as the person you shaped, guided by the love you poured into them.

Now for a look back at the world and events that helped shape it for the Class of 2018. Congratulations!

Born When:

  • The last century ended.
  • The 6 billionth living human in the world was born.
  • The West Wing debuted on NBC.
  • Movies like Toy Story 2 and Gladiator premiered.
  • Coldplay released their debut album
  • Air France Flight 4590 crashes into a hotel just after takeoff from Paris

Learning to Walk and Talk When

  • Nisqually Earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, hit the Seattle area
  • George W. Bush was elected president and officially inaugurated after the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case was settled
  • Hillary Clinton was elected to the US senate, becoming the first US First Lady to win public office (and while still the First Lady)
  • Lizzie McGuire premiered on Disney Channel
  • The first Harry Potter movie premiered
  • Wikipedia launches
  • Dale Earnhardt died in a crash during the final lap of the Daytona 500.
  • Planes flew into the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.
  • President Bush declares a “war on terror” and established the Office of Homeland Security.

Potty Training When:

  • Finding Nemo was released.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor of California
  • Wicked premiered on Broadway
  • Bethany Hamilton had her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing in Hawaii. – U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein
  • Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm
  • Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. – Friends aired its series finale after ten seasons.

In Preschool When

  • A 9.3 magnitude earthquake (the third largest ever recorded) created a tsunami causing devastation in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives and edges of the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people
  • Lost premiered on ABC
  • George W. Bush was re-elected
  • Ken Jennings finally loses on Jeopardy after a 74 game win streak, walking away with over $2.5 million
  • Condoleezza Rice became the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of State
  • Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles announced their engagement
  • YouTube launched.

In Elementary School They Were

  • Just about to start Kindergarten as the nation dealt with the aftermath of hurricane Katrina
  • In Kindergarten when shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Supernatural, Bones, The Colbert Report, and How I Met Your Mother were all just starting their first season, and Will & Grace aired its final season
  • 1st graders when J.K. Rowling finished writing the final Harry Potter book; 30 Rock premiered on NBC; the first Transformers movie came out; and Steve Jobs announced the iPhone
  • 2nd graders when The Big Bang Theory premiered on CBS; Breaking Bad aired its first episode; the Kardashians made their TV debut; Fidel Castro retired as president of Cuba; and Queen Elizabeth II became the oldest ever monarch in the UK.
  • 3rd graders when the stock market crashed, the U.S. banking system nearly collapsed, and the bottom fell out of the real estate market; SpaceX launched the first ever private spacecraft; Captain Sully made a successful crash landing on the Hudson River in New York City; and President Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, becoming the first African-American POTUS
  • 4th graders when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s speech at the VMAs; Simon Cowell left American Idol; movies like Avatar and Toy Story 3 hit big screens; the iPad launched; an earthquake devastated Haiti; and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill created an environmental disaster off the Gulf of Mexico
  • 5th graders when Prince William and Kate Middleton got engaged; Adele released “Rolling in the Deep”; shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones premiered; President Obama signed into law the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”; U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden; and a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, triggering a tsunami which killed thousands of people and caused the second worst nuclear accident in history.

In Middle School They Were

  • 6th graders when Kim Jong-un was officially appointed Supreme Leader of North Korea; a gunman opened fire at moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado; Steve Jobs stepped down as the CEO of Apple,;One Direction released their first album; Ashton Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men; and the first Hunger Games movie hit big screens
  • 7th graders when President Obama was elected for a second term; bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon; dozens of students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School were killed by a mass shooter; Edward Snowden leaked NSA documents; Hurricane Sandy hit New York City; Pope Francis took over the head of the Catholic Church; Malala Yousafzai survived after being shot 3 times by the Taliban; and (despite the predictions of the Mayan calendar) the world didn’t end
  • 8th graders when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl; Jimmy Fallon took over The Tonight Show,;Paul Walker died, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared; and the ebola virus epidemic began; a natural gas explosion rocked North Bend

 In High School They Were

  • Freshmen when the Seahawks returned to the Super Bowl but lost in the last seconds; Zayn Malik left One Direction; New York’s 104 story One World Trade Center officially opened; the Charlie Hebdo attack happened in Paris; ISIS became Enemy #1; Bill Cosby’s history of sexual assault allegations came to light; the U.S. and Cuba resumed normal relations; a major earthquake hit Nepal, and same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states; the Snoqualmie Valley passed a $244 million bond to build a new high school
  • Sophomores when Justin Trudeau was sworn in as Canadian Prime Minister; Trevor Noah took over The Daily Show after Jon Stewart ended his 16 year run; the presidential primaries became constant news; Adele’s single “Hello” became the first song with more than a million downloads in its first week; The X-Files were re-opened after 13 years; Beyoncé released her visual album Lemonade; and the UK voted to leave the EU in the historic “Brexit”; Twin Peaks returned to the Snoqualmie Valley to film
  • Juniors when Donald Trump was elected president; an estimated 5 million people marched worldwide in the historic Women’s March after inauguration day; Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds died within one day of each other; Russian hacking of the 2016 presidential elections became a major story; President Obama surprised Vice President Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and a bomb explodes at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester; new Mount Si High School began construction; local home prices soared to record highs
  • Seniors when North Korea conducted its largest ever nuclear test; hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria hit consecutively; The New York Times published its investigation into Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual assault/harassment; the #MeToo movement took off; tens of thousands worldwide participated in “March for Our Lives” and nationwide school walkouts to demand stricter gun control measures; Black Panther became the highest grossing superhero movie in America; and Prince Harry married Meghan Markle; Mount Si’s graduation moved off campus; SVSD got a new superintendent
MSHS 2017 Graduation.

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