A new road in life she has to run,
Her first day at school has now begun;
She'll learn to read and she'll learn to write,
She'll learn of math and she'll learn of life.

Her first days at school were somewhat a bore,
But they would open many a door;
First grade through fourth in New Bloomfield land,
She had lots of friends and belonged to the band.

In fifth grade she once again changed her school,
To Cedar Hill with a new set of rules;
Girl Scouts taught her what life did mean,
And her thoughts were of a trampoline.

She moved to Eugene still just a child,
But her life there wasn't going to be mild;
Shelly joined the choir in a church nearby,
Her goals in life now reached the sky.

Bible school, volleyball, screaming at games,
She didn't want life to be at all tame;
She went to proms and she went to dances,
She met her first beau and took her chances.

She gave him her heart with no fear,
But the romance ended in less than a year:
She went to New Mexico to have some fun,
Playing and swimming in a different sun.

The next year Chicago was a different scene,
With its skyscrapers so tall and lean;
This was the year she turned sixteen,
A car was the only hope of her dream.

A 62 Chevy, it ran like a top,
You can bet her life now isn't going to stop;
Her tonsils came out that year it is true,
But she wasn't down long I can guarantee you.

Her senior year was not to be too calm,
But she went after it without a qualm;
Arm in a cast, a leg the same,
Bumps and bruises were the name of the game.

Shelly played hooky and thought she'd fooled Mom,
But Mom knew better, she'd lived through Tom;
Marred Mom's car, put a dent in a truck,
This was the year for her tough luck.

Shelly went to Florida for one last fling,
She saw Mickey and Minnie do their thing:
The year's at an end, the school days are gone,
And as she leaves in her heart is a song.

Shelly will graduate on this day,
In shimmering sun with the flowers of May;
A new road in life she'll have to begin,
But somehow I know her battles she'll win.