Friday started with graduation rehearsal where you enjoyed looking at all of your old school photos and reading about what you had worked on and accomplished in various grades throughout your Kindergarten through 12th grade education. You learned where you will be sitting (stage right for most of the students in my part of the alphabet) - and were reminded to tell your parents so that they know which side to sit on to have the best view of you walking in and out of the ceremony. (A reminder, for my kids that would be sitting on the left side of the venue when you are looking at the stage.) And I heard more than once that it seems weird that you won't be coming back to Kilbourne to be a student any more.
The graduation related fun continued on Friday evening with the Baccalaureate ceremony. This is one of my absolute favorite parts of graduation weekend each year. I love watching your class celebrate your accomplishments together and to see your talents on display. The Baccalaureate ceremony is sponsored by the Activity Club and each year they do an incredible job making sure that the perfect tone is set to kick off graduation festivities. Thank you to all of my students and parents who were a part of planning, speaking or performing at the ceremony. It was outstanding!
And then, in just a few short hours it will be time for your actual commencement ceremony to begin! Wow, time really does seem to pass so quickly. Since after tomorrow you will no longer be my students I wanted to take a moment and share a letter with "my" seniors.
Dear Seniors,
Congratulations! It has been my honor to have the opportunity to know and work with you over the last 4 years. I am proud of what you have accomplished during high school, but even more than that, I am so excited about what the future has in store for you.
When I think about your class I think about your independence, your strength and your courage. Your high school years have been quite the journey. You display an ability to persevere when things are tough and to find your way even when it sometimes feels like you are walking alone. I have been inspired by your ability to care and support one another even when you are hurting yourself. You have continually impressed me by your ability to think critically, to figure out what is going to be the right path for you, and your steadfast focus to do things your own way. (And yes, let's be honest, sometimes those very same characteristics were what made some days tough because a stubborn refusal to change from your goal or to release a past hurt can be both a strength and a burden.) Even more than your independent nature, it is your strength and courage which will probably be the hallmarks I remember most from your class. And when I think of your strength and courage I, of course, think of the big things such as how your class dealt with the emotions of having peers get sick, facing physical or emotional battles of your own or among your friends and family, loved ones fighting illnesses, and the tragic deaths of those family members and friends you cared about, but it is so much more than that! It is your daily ability to push through when times were tough and it was difficult to focus and you felt like you might let everyone down (including yourself). It is your ability to look beyond your own circumstances to reach out to those who needed support and encouragement. It is your refusal to give up on learning that one subject that just never seemed to make sense to you. It is your willingness to face the tough stuff and to reach out for help when you recognized that this was bigger than you could manage alone. It is your ability to set your fear aside and return to the field with your team hoping that you would not get hurt again. And it is your never give-up spirit which shines through each and every day in your own unique ways and specific circumstances.
I have been touched by your willingness to open up and to allow me to share in your lives - both in times of joy and in times of sorrow. There really is no way that I can effectively articulate how much of an honor that is to me and I hope you know that it is not something I take for granted.
You have one of the most talented classes to have passed through the halls of WKHS. You are going to do incredible things in the future and regardless of what that will look like for each of you, I know that you will leave behind a piece of yourself that is a part of your legacy. But the best is yet to come! Among you in the future there will be military leaders, collegiate sports stars, those who excel in music, people who dedicate their lives to caring for and helping others, professionals who revolutionize the businesses with which you will work, and even those who leave high school with no clear direction, but will make a difference in the world as you figure out what it is that interests you most and helps to give you focus for how you can change the world. And that, quite honestly, is what I think most of all... your class is full of young men and young women who are going to make a positive difference in our world! You have the strength, the courage, the intelligence, the commitment, and the HEART to change the world - one person at a time, one day at a time, you ARE making a difference. You have already made a difference in my life and I cannot wait to see the impact you will have in the future!
And so now, as you graduate and leave behind the people and memories of your high school years, I hope you will remember that even though you will no longer be my student you will remain important to me. Please know that I care about you, I believe in you and I want the best for you. I am always just a phone call or email away if you need anything or even if you just need a reminder that you can accomplish whatever goal you have set for yourself no matter what obstacle might be in front of you.
Congratulations on your graduation. Enjoy tomorrow - you deserve to celebrate after everything you have been through and it will be a wonderful day! Thank you again for letting me share in your lives.
Love, Miss Abbott
And before I finish this post, can I offer one last piece of advice... pick a place where you will meet your family after the ceremony has finished. (And do not select the bottom of the first set of escalators leaving the Battelle Grand...) I realize that this is tough since you have probably never been down there, but when you and your family are arriving to line up, make a plan before heading in your separate directions. It is CHAOTIC after the ceremony ends and everyone is anxious to leave to get food, to get water, to take picture with friends, to see their extended family and this is just one more added stress that can be managed by deciding ahead of time where you are going to go to try to find one another. Each year too many people are trying to get on their phones to call to find people and the noise and the craziness just seems to make that a much more difficult task than it seems like it would be so trust me on this one and just decide on where you will meet. :-)
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