VIDALIA — Heavy rains and power outages Friday afternoon had many worried that Vidalia High School would have to postpone its commencement ceremonies, but the weather broke just in time for everything to go as planned.

Shoes may have sunk into VHS’s unusually saturated football field as the 88 graduates marched out to their places, but march they did.

Before the ceremony, the graduates were anxious but excited.

“I almost cried when it started to rain,” said Megan Watts, who plans to attend the University of Louisiana at Monroe to study nursing. “I’m over the stress now, and I’m excited.”

Some students expressed uncertainty about the future.

“I’m pretty nervous,” David Watts said. “We’ve been doing the same thing for 12 years, and now we have to grow up.”

Watts plans to attend Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez and work. He is considering studying criminal justice.

In a welcome to everyone in attendance, RaKeema Thomas said the graduates were leaving with a lot of memories.

“There is so much we hold in our hearts and our minds that will forever be in our class memory,” she said.

The other speakers spoke of looking toward the future.

Some people get sad at graduation time, Salutatorian Brittany Burnette said.

“Don’t be sad,” she said. “Be happy for us, because we are about to embark on a new journey.”

Valedictorian Wendy Millicks agreed.

“Where we end up is not the most important thing,” she said. “It is the road we take to get there.

“Life is a journey taking us where we go, but happiness is to be found along the way.”

Teachers and parents have taught graduates enough to guide them through life, Millicks said.

“Everyone has equipped us with enough knowledge to make any decision in the world,” she said.

Both Burnette and Millicks challenged their classmates to continue to dream and to press forward.

“Finish the race you have started,” said Burnette.

The things worth knowing take work, Millicks said.

“It is easy to ascertain something not worth knowing,” she said.

When it came time to present diplomas, Principal Rick Brown said the seniors were not only good students, but also good people.

Turning to the graduates, he said, “You have set the new standard for seniors.”

MONTEREY — The 20 seniors who walked across the Monterey High School stage at Friday’s graduation was a tight-knit bunch, it seemed.

Since the school has classes from kindergarten through the 12th-grade, many had known each other for years.

Several had mixed feelings about leaving school and starting a new life.

“I’m going to love it, but I’m going to miss all the friends,” graduating senior Quillian Smith said.

A member of the school’s first preschool class, she said she had known some of those friends nearly her whole life.

“I’m going to miss getting to see friends every day,” she said. “It’s like a support system.”

Bryce Mitchell said he was ready to graduate and start studying car design. But high school had its advantages, he said.

“I’m going to miss not having to join the real world and working,” Mitchell said. “But, yeah, I’m kind of ready to graduate.”

Basketball team member Crystal McMillin said she was a little nervous about walking across the gym floor.

“I don’t want to trip. I walk in there every day, but it’s different this time,” McMillin said.

As for her classmates, “I’m going to miss them all,” she said.

With a gym full of family, friends and supporters, the ceremony went off without a hitch.

Salutatorian Jared Price and valedictorian Samantha Nations emphasized the lessons they had learned, both in and outside the classroom.

“We can be whatever we want,” Price said. “All we need is perseverance.”

And they learned real-life lessons at school, too, Nations said. They leaned to be a team in sports, patience in the cafeteria line and clean up their messes in science lab.

“I can’t wait to hear your stories at our first class reunion,” she said.

In the end, nobody tripped, tassels swung on the right side, and everyone smiled as they stepped off the stage into a new life.