It’s graduation season. If you have graduates in your life, I trust the day is being well celebrated and the memory emblazoned on the hearts of those celebrated.

As I reflect on the graduations I’ve experienced, I can remember feeling them as days of “completion.”  Then I’d wake up the next day and realize that the “graduation” made things more complicated.

I’m watching some high school graduates closely. In the months ahead, they will be packing their stuff, leaving their homes, and pursuing “adulting.”

“Adulting” is not for the faint of heart. Responsibility shifts in the direction of the one becoming an adult. Depending on the person, things that have been provided will soon shift. The resources one has to access increasingly depend on the effort put in by that adult.

As those who care for and care about these graduates, we make a mistake if we don’t raise awareness about what’s ahead. That realization should be mobilizing.

My message to my seniors is that they will need to elevate their “game.”

The “game” is about adding margin.

More education is “margin.”

Maturity is “margin.”

Having the skill of being a teammate is “margin.”

Earning and saving money is “margin.”

Being someone who can be counted upon is “margin.”

Stepping up and leading everywhere you can, is “margin.”

Knowing and trusting in a God who had planned for you is “margin.”

The list of margin-building strategies is vast. Unique to each person. How you choose to build margin is a creative process. The important thing is that you understand it’s the game you must play.

If one can see life as a place where they can add to their “margin,” and use it at the right times for the good of those they love and care about, that person will make an impact in the world.

That’s why a graduation ceremony is called a commencement. Good luck. Get on with it. Happen to the world.