After 12 years of hard work from kindergarten through senior year, every high schooler dreams of celebrating their big day of graduation alongside their classmates, teachers, administrators, friends and family.
For Yelm High School’s class of 2026, this dream came true at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 7, inside of the Tacoma Dome.
Matt Mounts, former YHS Athletic Director, led the ceremony inside of the venue.
He welcomed Valedictorian Ciarra-Nicole Bratton to the stage, who read her speech, titled, “Evolving.”
“I think the strange thing about growing up is that it doesn’t happen all at once. It happens quietly,” Bratton read. “One day you’re 14, convinced adulthood is far away, and the next you’re driving yourself places, getting a job, applying to college and realizing your life is beginning to change in ways you can’t undo. For most of our lives, we’ve lived through routines we assumed would last forever. Seeing the same people every day. Waking up early for school. Knowing what tomorrow would probably look like. But one of the hardest parts of growing up is realizing that we’re living these moments for the last time. For me, that realization hit when I understood I’d be leaving my home in the fall. And I don’t just mean my physical house, I mean Washington, and the familiarity of it all. The people, the routines, even small things like knowing exactly how the air smells. Things that once felt so normal suddenly started feeling more important. Growing up is exciting, but it can also feel lonely. Nobody really warns you about that part. People can support you, guide you, and love you, but ultimately, becoming who you are is something you have to do for yourself.”
Following the conclusion of Bratton’s speech, Mounts introduced Sofie Miera, Valedictorian, to read her speech, “Rubatosis.”
“There’s a word, rubatosis, which is used to describe the unsettling awareness of one’s own heartbeat. I don’t remember when the term infiltrated my vocabulary, but I do remember feeling rubatosis as I grew up,” Miera read. “It can be slightly annoying to become hyperaware of oneself, just as it can be bittersweet to suddenly notice that something that was always there, is no longer there any more. I think graduation feels a little bit like rubatosis. More likely than not we took note of our last high school sports game. Our last state competition. Our last bell. Our last lunch. Many of the things that were background details and/or academic obligations now seem to demand our attention simply because they are coming to an end.
“When I experience rubatosis during these decisive endings–and on this stage as I speak to you all right now — it is not of my physical heart but of my mind and its memories.”
Following the end of Miera’s speech, Mounts introduced Salutatorian Kaylee Little, who read her speech, “The Last Time.”
“Life is full of so many firsts, and from childhood, we’re taught to celebrate those firsts. Your first steps, first friend, first school dance, first football game, first car. We look forward to every beginning because beginnings are exciting,” Little said. “But what nobody tells you is that every first quietly creates a last. The last time we’ll eat lunch with our friends, that last attendance call, our last Prom, last football game. None of us ever walked into school thinking, “this is the last time.” We spend so much time chasing the big moments, all the firsts in life, that we often overlook all of our lasts. And I don’t just mean the last time we’ll be in high school, but the little moments in between. The last time you’ll be laughing with friends after school, the last time you hear your teacher say good morning, the last time hearing familiar voices in the hallway, the last time you sit at your desk in class.”
