MHD Class of 2013 Remembers Everyday Life — and Swampscott.

The Class of 2013 celebrated everyday life at graduation Sunday in the Marblehead High gym where speakers recalled their common experiences.

From being seen on The Neck to being heard at the annual powder puff football game. Teachers who taught them to sweat. And rooting against rival Swampscott.

Even talk of new slates and starts reflected on the 210 graduates' shared experiences.

Valedictorian Kathleen Reilly recommended a compromise in her address. She suggested students find a middle ground between holding on to school memories and forging new ones.

She urged classmates to be grateful for the past but not indebted to it.

Max Levine's senior essay poked fun at some of the pomp and circumstances of their past four years in the school's classrooms and hallways and on the grounds.

Classmates' laughter registered how true his observations struck home.

Class President Meghan Collins asked the question, "Who is a Header?"

Her list included those remember the time in childhood when they walked downtown for the first time without a parent, and walking The Neck to be seen more than to see.

Swampscott made the list, too. A Header is someone who wants Swampscott to lose in the Div. 3 hockey championship or any other contest, she said.

The president said she expects they will see each other in years to come at Thanksgiving Day football games vs Swampscott, each of them overdressed.

"We'll always have the little things," she said.

Superintendent Gregory Maass focused on the accomplishments of everyday heroes, not the famous, as the ones that make a difference in lives.

The first thing he did was ask veterans in the audience to stand.

The musical program included the number "Marblehead Forever" and two selections by the chorus.

The chorus sang a straight-forward, strong rendition of  "Don't You (Forget About Me.)" It had people smiling, some wiping tears.

When it came time to turn the tassels and toss the hats, the students hesitated before letting their caps fly.

Then they let them fly, high in the gym..