Maybe it’s best to have a whole village when raising a child, no doubt, the more support a person feels while growing up, the better off they will be.

But when it comes down to it, in order to succeed in life, to develop into a caring, compassionate person, it takes at least one.

For many people, they have two parents. They have a support network of family members, they have teachers, coaches, pastors, somebody, anybody, who takes the time to care.

This year, the staff of the Central Kitsap Reporter sought out graduating seniors who, fortunately, didn’t have to do it on their own.

But the stories of these students, who found support from non traditional places, lead one to ask about those young people who didn’t have that support. The kids who didn’t have an adult who made sure they ate dinner, did their homework, yelled at them when they missed curfew or dinged up the car.

It’s easy to find such people who lived their young lives without that support, look at the Kitsap County jail roster.

It would be inaccurate to suggest every person who grows up without a loving, caring adult in life ends up on a dead end road.

It’s also inaccurate to suggest that those who do get loving attention from grown ups will inevitably develop into responsible, caring adults.

Life is too unpredictable and people are too resilient to make such broad generalizations.

However, it’s helpful to keep in mind that kids don’t need cell phones, video games, cars, expensive clothes or daily trips to McDonald’s.

What they need, really, is one adult who believes in them.

To the adults who were there, who set up boundaries and enforced the rules, who made sure a kid went to bed full knowing they were loved, these graduation ceremonies are for you.