The high school graduation season concludes this week, and from the small, alternative high schools where challenged teens have been molded into respectable students, to the large, blue ribbon campuses where many will graduate with glowing honors, the class of 2008 is moving on.

Once young and inexperienced, these 17- and 18-year-olds are strong and independent now, ready to take the next big step.

Some have won awards and medals and boast impressive resumes- others are fortunate to graduate at all. Education, after all, is just an opportunity, a chance for students to wear different hats and find out what fits. The smartest will do well, to be sure, and become the future leaders of industry and government, but many- the average Joes among us- will face challenges of a different sort.

In school, these students weren't the ones who stood out. Their grades were average at best, and they didn't receive the accolades and recognition that the gifted students did.

But average doesn't connote weakness or suggest that a student will be a failure. If a young person can obtain a degree or receive training in one of the trades, what more can a parent ask for? Not everyone can be the class valedictorian- not everyone will be a bright and shining star.

We think our schools have done an excellent job laying the groundwork for our seniors, but education remains a lifelong process. Those who succeed will continue to learn and adapt. Maybe they're standing at the head of the class now, or maybe they're just quiet and unassuming, waiting to blossom later. All we can hope is that when our seniors become members of society they make decisions based on integrity, not dishonor; on altruism, not greed.

There's only one thing we know for sure: that there's no path that's right for everybody and there's no single formula that can guarantee a young person's success.

True, the brightest and the hungriest are most likely to succeed. But there's also a lot of luck involved and more than just a little bit of risk. Seniors, it's better to try and fail than never to have tried at all.

Beginnings are fresh and unspoiled, full of hope and promise for the future. Teens that struggled or failed to impress in high school have a chance to wipe the slate clean. Those are the ones who've flown under the radar- those are the ones we're rooting for also.