“Oh my God, these are not my children and I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes,” one viewer commented on the viral clipNicholas Rice is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers.
At the start of the clip, the young children can be seen waving to a camera, before one boy runs and jumps over it. The scene then transitions to an outdoor field, where a teenager — dressed in a graduation gown and matching cap — is captured landing, before calling on others to join him.PEOPLE's free daily newsletter
to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories."Oh my God, these are not my children and I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes," one viewer wrote, as another added, "I just watched my granddaughter graduate last night and it feels just like yesterday I was pacing the floors waiting for her to be born.
“Over the past few months, every parent I’ve spoken with has said the same thing: ‘In the blink of an eye, your kids are grown,’ ” she explained. The school's principal, Garry Tausch, added that he got emotional watching the video, telling the outlet, “The visualization is very powerful. It's that quick and they're gone.