At my high school graduation, our school prepared a grand graduation ceremony for us in the great hall. At the ceremony, our principal gave everyone a diploma and took a photo with each of us.

All of my classmates and I wore a black graduation gown. It went down to our knees with wide sleeves and was fairly shapeless. We were also required to wear black shoes, and the boys needed to wear black pants with a white shirt while the girls needed to wear a black skirt with a white blouse. Everyone ordered the graduation gowns through our school so they would be exactly the same.

I think wearing the graduation dress has two special meanings. On one hand, it can make us look tidier and more like a group. On the other hand, and most importantly, it is a sense of ritual, which symbolizes that we have completed one stage of learning and can move on to the next.

My classmates and I wore our gowns proudly throughout the ceremony. Also, my whole family attended this ceremony and all of them were over the moon, especially my grandparents. My aunt kept telling me how beautiful I looked and how quickly I had become an adult. It was a day filled with emotion and I was so proud to be wearing my graduation gown that I didn’t want to take it off.