To the Senior Class of 2014

As I close a chapter of my life, I’ve been thinking about the next one. While I’m glad to be done with high school, I’m moving into a new chapter that is even harder; college. I think most of the graduation excitement doesn’t come from being done, but from just beginning.

When the rest of my class disperses to their new respective communities, I hope they will remember that they are not quite done either. We all have long journeys ahead of us, and not one leads to the same place. Some of us will stay in the place we grew up; some will venture out to a whole new state. Some of us will work on building a career; some may build a family. Some of us will do great things; some of us will become ordinary heroes. But, wherever we end up, be it far from each other or close to home, we will all remember where we came from, and never forget where we want to go.

I wish everyone the best of luck in their endeavors, be they current, new, and yet to come. We’ve closed a chapter to begin another; one which will take us to places unknown and expected, new and old, challenging and simple. Wherever those places are, don’t forget the dreams that steered you toward them and the stepping stones that lead you there.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson