So much of growing up is about reaching the next step. The next year, the next grade, the next relationship, the next goal. Young people are constantly encouraged to look forward, to improve, to begin again. But we rarely pause to celebrate what’s behind them.

We don’t often say: Look what you’ve completed. Look what you’ve endured. Look what you’ve finished.

Instead, endings are quietly dismissed or met with discomfort. They’re seen as losses, failures, or simply transitions to something better. But what if we taught young people to frame endings not as something to get over—but as something to honour?

Every ending is a chapter closing. And that chapter has its own story, its own growth, its own weight. Whether it’s the end of a school year, a creative project, a friendship, or even a period of emotional struggle—what came before mattered. It deserves recognition.

In the One Life Many Endings project, we encourage young people to see endings as rites of passage. Not just a goodbye, but a marker of what they’ve lived through. Something to reflect on, learn from, and yes—even celebrate.

Because finishing something can be just as meaningful as starting it.

Celebration doesn’t always mean a party. Sometimes it’s a moment of quiet pride. A message to yourself. A walk with a friend. A shared memory. A ritual. A pause that says: I did this. It changed me.

One participant described how finishing a difficult internship felt surprisingly emotional. “It was only three months, but I learned so much about myself. At the end, we each wrote a letter to our future selves. I’d never done that before. It made me realise how far I’d come.”

Another spoke about ending a long-term friendship. “We both knew it was time. It wasn’t dramatic, just sad. But we met one last time and shared a few memories. That helped me see it not as a failure, but as a full story.”

These small acts of recognition matter. They help young people carry the meaning of the experience, not just the memory.

When we celebrate endings, we also help shift the cultural narrative that only beginnings are exciting or worthy of attention. We show that closure can be beautiful. That leaving something behind can be a sign of growth. That finishing a chapter takes strength.

This is especially important in youth work and education, where we often focus on outcomes, achievements, or transitions—but forget to pause and honour the journey itself.

Facilitators can support this reframing by creating closing rituals. Invite a group to name one thing they’re proud of. Create certificates that don’t just say “completion,” but reflect effort, courage, or creativity. Ask participants to describe their journey in three words. Make a collective memory board. Celebrate the process, not just the product.

Even endings that are painful can hold moments of light. Surviving a tough year. Leaving a toxic environment. Saying goodbye to something that no longer serves you. These too are achievements. These too deserve to be marked.

Helping young people celebrate endings teaches emotional resilience. It shows that letting go is not shameful—it’s powerful. It gives them confidence to move into new chapters with clarity, not confusion. And it reminds them that even when something ends, they continue.

So let’s start saying it more often:

You did it.

You finished.

You made it through something.

You’re allowed to feel proud.

And now, you get to turn the page—with the strength of everything you’ve lived already behind you.