There is something absolutely triumphant about getting to that day when you turn in your last assignment for high school and walk out of that place you have spent day after day for the last number of years.
There is also something terrifying about that moment. Because while most students of course are aiming for that last day of study, what waits for them on the other side is sometimes daunting. The unknown. Responsibility. Independence. and of course…BILLS. Ugh (those I think we could all stand to do without) But there is always something exciting about spending time with a Senior as they prepare to exit what has been their life for the last 13 years and go into the world of Adulthood. The look of accomplishment for finally making it through, added to the excitement and anticipation of new adventures, mixed with the look of not knowing what REALLY lies before them is a look not mirrored in any other set of eyes. It is hard not to share the joy and also look back on your own memories of YOUR last days as a High School Senior.
IAN- you should be so incredibly proud of all you have accomplished in the last 13 years of life. Many of which I have actually had the chance to watch! School is never 100% easy for anyone. But you did it! Even in the tough times and ending during this crazy pandemic time, You did it. AND you did it EARLY. Those things should never slip your mind as great things you have tackled. And as you take on the rest of this life before you, Don’t let the distractions, the defeat, and the lies of this world keep you from the truth that lies deep within you. You have great things before you. Reachable great things. But it will take more of what the first 12 years took.
Work. Dedication. Focus. Support. Encouragement. Determination. and most importantly the One that keeps breath in your lungs every morning. Never forget to be thankful and grateful for even the littlest simple things.
I leave you with these words that I know you are familiar with. May they remind you of the important things that make achieving your goals a reality.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
IF by Rudyard Kipling
Don’t give up.
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