There are three things you learn in high school:
1. The quadratic formula. And no, math teachers, the students probably don’t remember it anymore. I’m sorry.
2. How to have a two minute conversation and still manage to get to class on time, despite people who don’t know how to move to the side of the hallway.
And third, you begin to learn who you are. Yes, while high school is centered around preparing you for what you are pursuing later in life, be it further education, directly taking part in the workforce, becoming a member of our armed forces, or even taking time to figure yourself out, it prepares you for the life you are going to be living.
Robert Frost once wrote:
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;”
Life is, essentially, a documentation of the decisions that you make. I think something that people too often fail to remember is that you make so many choices in even just one day, so many that seem so irrelevant, but in many cases, those can be the ones that affect you the greatest. What opportunities did you take advantage of? Were you a track star? Did you take part in swimming? Were you a member of the marching band? Essentially, you have made smaller choices like these, but honestly, they are what you are going to remember from high school.
When you look back in ten years, will you remember the calculus worksheet that you had to complete for homework? Probably not. But you will certainly remember when you were on the bus to a competition and your friends said something so funny, that by the time you had been able to catch your breath, you realized that you laughed so hard that you cried a little.
Trust me, the future can certainly seem overbearing, and you have been tasked at this point in your lives with figuring out how we intend to course through it. Many of you are probably unsure of what you want to do, what decisions you want to make, and honestly, that’s okay! You are allowed to question what you want, what your futures hold. You have been gifted with a community that will support us, even following your years at your high school. You are able to be more at ease with the vast mystique of the future, knowing that we can always find solace when you come home.
You are at a fork in the road at this point in your life, but you must make the decisions that are best for you on your own accord. Your teachers, friends, even your family have brought you to this point in your life, and it is now time for you to take the reins, and lead yourself into the future.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
