The tears. The laughter. The beginning of the rest of your life.

We at the Gradebook will spare you the melodrama. We're nerdy education wonks who don't look back on high school as the best time of our lives. But it is a milestone, a huge one at that, more significant than ever in a day of exit exam requirements.

So we salute the graduates, from the eight-point-plus GPA over-achievers to the last name in the alphabet. Hillsborough's State Fairgrounds and and the USF Sundome will see a whirlwind of graduations in the coming week. Congrats to all!