LAKEWOOD — Along with the feeling of new hope for entering the “real world,” and reaching goals after high school, Lakewood seniors reminisced at their commencement ceremony May 14.

“We have walked the Cougar path, and we didn’t know where it would lead,” said senior Mark Fernandez, class speaker. “It didn’t lead us to a magical place filled with Skittles — it led us to the gym.”

All kidding aside, it was at a packed Lakewood gymnasium that the 2010 Cougars came to say goodbye to high school, and hello to a future that was once four years away.

“We’ve done this together, enjoyed each other’s successes and been there for each other’s failures,” said class valedictorian Chelsea Sowards. “But here is where our paths diverge.”

And they do diverge in as many ways as possible, as the 172 seniors at Lakewood enter a world that is full of choices, which faculty speaker Terry Keffer, a math teacher, emphasized as needing precise calculation.

The ceremony was also highlighted by a performance of the Lakewood High School Jazz Choir singing ‘I Wish’ and a speech by principal Dale Leach urging the youth in front of him to be mindful of the future, but also be wise enough to relish the present.

“Enjoy it as you walk across the podium and receive your recognition for four years at this school,” he said. “And soak it in as you walk outside onto the gravel and get ready for whatever is in line for you next.”