Dear Graduating College Seniors,

Over the past few weeks we have watched each and every one of you graduate and go off into the adult world. To me, that means that I'll never see you at practice, in the dining hall, or walking down Campus Walk - but that's okay since college has prepared you to walk that adult walk. So far this graduation season, I have fully watched two graduations, I couldn't go but I still watched and I got teary eyed watching each one and cheered on each of you as your name got called. I didn't want to come to the realization that y'all were leaving the nest and moving on.

I was watching the College of William and Mary's Commencement this weekend and their guest commencement speaker, U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team coach Jill Ellis. She told the graduates to "Be bold!" She defined bold as being "of a person, action or idea showing an ability to take risks, be confident, be courageous.” Like her, I'm here to say that each one you graduating seniors (for me it is my teammates, my RA, fellow tour guides, and small group leaders) are all willing to take risks, confident, and courageous. You came into your chosen college or university with a specific path and destination that you wanted to reach, it may have changed once or twice with things not going the way you had originally planned...but now, you finally have that degree and have graduated, seeing how much you've accomplished within the past four years. Those four years have seen a lot of blood, sweat, and tears just to take the risks, be and stay confident, and show your courage.

When out in the real world, don't forget about your college friends and family and don't forget to be completely fearless while pursuing what you really love. If you want to write a book, write one. If you want to travel the world, travel the world. If you want to do something new and exciting, do that something! Whatever you do, just go in the direction of your dreams. There will be bumps along the road in order for you to get where you're going, but those bumps are just life. As Dr. Suess once said, "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose."

Whether we were close friends or were only acquaintances, I will miss each and every one of you. I know that you'll each do great things in the world and that you will be the difference that you want to see. Thank you for teaching me the ways around our campus. Thank you for reading over my assignments before I hit the submit button. And thank you for all the memories and laughter that I got to experience with you during your last year of college.

xoxo,

-M.