Dear Class of 2016:
Congrats! You did it. Watching you graduate this past week has really opened my eyes to all that you have accomplished in your 12 and a half years of school. Not only that, but what you will accomplish in the next years following.
Yes, it was strange to be back at the same place that I had graduated from just a year ago, the same place that I had been my Junior year, as a class officer bringing in the Class of 2014 to graduate, so it was no surprise that I have shown my face at the arena for the third year in a row, for a different purpose, yet again. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, but to be an alum of the high school that you are now an alum of is strange, bittersweet, and all the things that are right in the world.
Your class is going to accomplish some of the best things, and even some of the worst, just like any class. You're going to shoot for the stars while some of you choose to stay grounded. You may decide to look for only happiness, but some of you will choose a different route. Know that this is all a part of life, all a part of the plan to get to the end goal, all a part of the next step in your career.
You're entering the semi-real world now, and while it seems scary, I promise it's not. You're going to find yourself studying long hours, reciting chemical terms you won't remember in a few years. You're going to run every morning, paint pictures out of thin air. You're going to eat healthier, or worse, and you're going to find yourself wishing that you did more.
My biggest regret in my freshman year of college was that I ended with "I wish..." I wish I had done more. I wish I had applied to more scholarships. I wish I had figured out sorority life was for me, even if I didn't think so to start. I wish I had used my planner more. I wish I had better time management. I wish I knew math was going to be hard. I wish I had spent more time in the library than listening to my roommate talk about her boy problems. I wish I had found my people sooner. It always starts with "I wish."
And that, too, will be your biggest issue. You're going to want to do it all, but I promise you, there is no reason to. There's no reason to have it all figured out and no reason to see yourself in the future 20 years from now. Everything from now until then is going to shape you into the wonderful human you will become. I wouldn't be myself without a hectic schedule. I wouldn't be who I am without understanding that anxiety is a part of me, and it's okay to stress out about things. Your life can be full of "I wish" but you can't regret the things that you didn't do if you spent the time doing the things you actually thought were worth your time.
And, another piece of advice: Take it all in. Everything will pass smoother and faster than you expect, and in no way should this be taken for granted. You are given one of the best opportunities of your life, and it should be lived as such. Attend the concerts your event club put together. Attend the lecture given by some really smart professor. Go to that club you actually like. Listen to your acapella groups sing. Attend winter and spring and fall fest. All of them. Get the free stuff. Do it. Every moment here counts, and with 12 and half years of drilled in material, you're given free range in this next part of life, so why not take it?
You are full of potential, Class of 2016. Use it up. As Elias Zerhouni once said, "You should have big dreams, full dreams, not half dreams. You know, it's very simple. You can't put a large box in a small box. Well, you cannot put a full life in a small dream box." Let those dreams run rampant. Now's the time to make them happen.
Sincerely,
The Class of 2015 Alum
