On May 21st, all of the students of the 12th-grade graduating class of 2021 of SHSID participated in the Coming-of-Age ceremony and the healthy color-run activity at the vibrant Pujiang Country Park. These young men and women, all of whom are 18 years old, are like the rising sun, full of vigor and hope. The age of 18 not only means that they are about to graduate from high school, but that they have to take responsibility and be adults who make themselves and their parents, schools, and society proud.

At nine o'clock in the morning, students from each class arrived at the gate of Pujiang Country Park to gather. The weather was sunny and breezy. The students were all excited about this special ceremony. In the center of the park, which was in full springtime bloom, Principal Ma Feng and Director Liu Qin delivered enthusiastic speeches, respectively. Principal Ma encouraged the students to always maintain self-confidence and embrace a new chapter in life with a mature mind and broad sense of vision. Director Liu led the students to reflect on the changes they have faced over the past four years, and hoped that everyone could come back to visit after graduation and the years to come. Then, the parent representative, Ms. Peng, gave a speech. As a mother watching many of the students grow up, she hoped that all the students could seize the precious time before going off to college and talk more with their parents. The head teacher of Grade 12, Ms. Zhang Yueyue, and all of the homeroom teachers of Grade 12 also sent blessings to the students who participated in the ceremony. Finally, the students released the balloons that were symbolic of their dreams and declared together, "We have grown up! Mom and Dad, thank you so much!"

Afterwards, the students in each class put on colorful T-shirts and started the healthy color-run activity. The students, with variously decorated body paintings, completed a two-kilometer healthy run laughing the entire time. In the process, everyone also felt the excitement and a healthy sense of trepidation for the upcoming graduation.

At lunchtime, the students sat on the lawn by the lake and shared a meal together. This special lakeside picnic also marked the end of the day’s coming-of-age ceremony. Everyone said with excitement that participating in the ceremony with other classmates was a precious memory that worth taking to university. Through this ceremonial way, the students are now ready to take on the social responsibilities of the new generation of youth, display their talents on a higher stage, and chase after their dreams.

(Written by Takabe Tomoe, Jieyang Jane Mao Pictures by Grade 12 homeroom teachers Edited by Cheer Zhang Supervised by Cheer Zhang, Qian Zuo)