I’m a few weeks overdue in saying these words to you all, but I’m so thankful for you twenty-three lifelong pals.
I was not valedictorian of our senior class (duh); not that I expected to be or desired to be.
Really, the only thing I would’ve jumped at the opportunity to partake in was a speech.
How dreadful, right? Both our class valedictorian and salutatorian are close friends of mine, and I know how much they agonized over writing and giving their speeches. (They were both impeccable works of literature that made everyone cry. In a good way).
Language is, in my humble opinion, the most powerful of all tools God placed in our toolbelts. Not many things come naturally for me, but piecing words and phrases together actually does. If you keep up with my blog or know me at all, you know writing is my niche.
So, this post is about the future, and the things I would’ve said to my friends and classmates were I given the opportunity to give a speech at graduation.
(Momentary pause: Future speechwriter, perhaps?)
(Unpause).
Let’s begin.
My friends and peers– though truthfully, I consider you all friends, and I can say this with complete sincerity of heart.
Four years ago, there are many of you I felt isolated from. Not because of your personalities, but because of mine.
Four years ago, I would never dare to start a conversation first with anyone other than my best friends. I was still soaking in the deep waters of social anxiety, isolating myself from being bold and seizing my moments.
It took me four years to realize what stellar people walked among me, and for that, I am so terribly sorry.
A mantra I live by now is carpe diem– “seize the day.” I’ve always appreciated the Latin phrase and how its meaning is relevant in nearly every situation, big or small, every single day. I waited until my senior year to authentically begin seizing my high school days, once I realized how little remained.
I know many of my fellow seniors resonate with the idea of moving on to bigger and better things. I felt restless almost every day of senior year once I decided to attend Lee this fall 2018. But as restless as I felt in precalculus and US government day in and day out, I could not snuff out the little voice in the back of head, warning me that I was going to miss out something incredible if I did not stay focused on the present.
Little did I realize the incredible somethings I was about to miss out on was the class of 2018 themselves.
Not a single soul that genuinely knows Berean Christian School would disagree that the people are what make the school so extraordinary.
The people.
They say your college friends are the friends that you’ll remember and keep in touch with, but I don’t think that’s completely true.
Four years ago, I worried so much about what you all thought of me. I cared so deeply to give the illusion of perfection simply so I wouldn’t stick out (not that any of you were fooled into thinking I actually had my life together).
Four years later, I still care about what you all think of me. Not because I’m trying to blend in, but because I’m trying to stand out. Stand out in love. Stand out in kindness. Stand out in authenticity. I wanted to have a positive impact on you all before we parted.
You twenty-three seniors I will graduate alongside tomorrow: You all stand out in the best ways to me. I’ve traveled across Europe with many of you and the high school hallway with the rest of you. We’ve all seen each others’ scars and broken pieces. We’ve shared laughter at senior roasts, tears in junior year chemistry class (just…RIP), and with some of you even memories all the way back to kindergarten.
I see exceptional qualities in every single one of you (yes, all twenty-three of you). To name a few: joyful hearts, fearless spirits, witty charm, driven devotion, bright minds, leading natures…you all contain goodness that is beyond measure. I feel so tremendously blessed to have stories and memories to share with my children someday about all the people behind the signatures in my senior yearbook.
My friends, please live deliberate lives. Don’t allow others who seem older or wiser to make your decisions for you. Do things that scare you, things that test your faith and light your fires. Take risks. Don’t be afraid to pursue a path that doesn’t immediately lead to money or success if the path is what you are passionate about. I say all these things in the hope that I, too, will be bold in my future.
Listen to God. Life brings so much white noise, but don’t chase distraction. Chase your futures, and chase Him.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,
to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,
and not, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau-
best wishes, much love, and lots and lots of sunny days, class of 2018.
live wanderfully 