A letter to "my" seniors

Dear Seniors,

“Cap, Gown, Diploma, Stage” – it has been a mantra I have repeated often to many of you when you have battled senioritis, considered giving up, or wondered what it would feel like to finish high school.  Tomorrow is your graduation day and you will enjoy being the center of attention and celebrating your accomplishments.  I hope you will embrace every moment of this occasion and try to really reflect on what graduation represents and the excitement and pride of all you have accomplished.  Congratulations – it was all worth it!

Sometimes you will hear people say that the high school years are the best years of your life, but I do not believe that is true.  The best is ahead of you.  In the years to come you will discover your passions and your purpose.  You will learn and grow more than I can imagine and you will make a difference – in your lives, in the lives of your family and friends, in your community, in our country and in the world.  (No pressure!  J)  I cannot wait to see and hear about where life will take you.  In college you will get to choose for yourself what classes you want to take, what activities to get involved with, and what career you want to pursue.  It will no longer be because your parents said you had to do something, your teacher asked you to take on a leadership role, or your counselor assigned you to particular class.  It is exciting and I believe that the foundation you have built over the last 18 years of your life will help you to go forward with confidence knowing that you can achieve anything!

When I reflect back on your senior class, I think of how much you have already accomplished.  I think of students who have balanced an extraordinary academic course-load.  I think of the stress that some of those classes caused you.  I think of the excitement of watching you compete and perform.  I can remember being convinced that some of you were absolutely silent even though you’d tell me that teachers wouldn’t agree and then, over time, realizing that you definitely weren’t silent.  As the silence broke, I considered myself fortunate to listen to how you thought, the way you reflected on your activities, your actions and your future plans.  I watched as some of you planned from the earliest days of high school exactly which colleges you wanted to apply to while others of you simply wanted to know which college you could get into without having to write an essay.  And speaking of essays… the edits and the revisions… they were dreaded, but I must admit, I loved watching the way you came up with creative ways to express yourself.  And the college application process is certainly one that allowed me to get to know many of you better.  The good and the bad, the excitement and the disappointment, the range of emotions associated with the college process simply cannot be captured by words, but having the opportunity to walk alongside you in this journey was a privilege.

I will miss your compassion.  The way you think of others, putting your own needs aside because you care for someone else who is struggling.  I will miss your humor.  You definitely made me smile and laugh often.  I will miss your visits.  As you shared the updates on your life, the stresses of being in high school, the frustrations with your family circumstances, the annoyance that you have to do yet another project, the battles with senioritis, and the excitement of reaching a goal that once seemed like just a dream, you found a special place in my heart.  I will miss your enthusiasm.  Your class didn’t do things small – you threw your whole self into whatever project you undertook.  Most of all, I will simply miss you.

Thank you for opening up and sharing your lives with me.  You have impacted my life in a positive way and I am thankful to have known you.  I hope you leave Kilbourne knowing that you are important to me, that I care about you, and that I believe in you.   Please keep in touch in the future and remember, I will always be just a phone call or e-mail away if you need anything.

Congratulations and enjoy tomorrow – you deserve it!

With Love and Gratitude,  Miss Abbott