Senior farewell: You will be great

I have always dreamed of greatness.

Now, if you asked me what exactly I mean by that, I would not be able to give you a definitive answer.

They say high school is the greatest year of your life, but I believe greatness stretches much further than classrooms, football games, and homecoming dances.

It’s about the warmth sunshine leaves on your skin, the sound of trees rustling in the wind or the songs of birds in the early A.M, it’s about the emotions music can evoke, dancing with someone you love and laughing so hard you can’t breathe.

But it’s also about losing a loved one, getting rejected from your dream college, and feeling genuine pain.

Life is meant to graze your skin and leave marks.

So as my senior year begins to come to an end, and every minute reminds me of the day where I will soon take my final steps out the doors of KHS one last time, I’ll admit to you, I’m scared.

Scared I will never become great, people will never applaud me, or look up to me with honor and inspiration.

But greatness is only on the other side of fear.

I have always been so encapsulated with the idea of being known.

I want the world to know who I am, and I hope to impact more lives than I ever imagined I could.

Part of me hopes I’ll finally stop pondering all the “what if” questions and start asking “why not me?”

We are all so capable of achieving our dreams.

Over these past four years, this year especially, we’ve had college applications and life expectations shoved down our throats by people who only know as much as our first and last names.

I will always remind those around me to live in the now.

If I could ask you to remember one thing, it is to always trust the timing of your life.

Please remember that you will never lose what is right for you, the right things will always connect.

It took me a while to realize that, and once I stepped back and started looking at my idea of what I want my life to look like instead of everyone else’s perception of it, I could finally breathe.

Looking around and seeing people I will forever remember as kids whom I’ve spent almost everyday with for 12 years, I wish them nothing less than greatness.

You have all taught me so much, a debt I’ll never be able to repay, and a favor I never asked for but needed more than I will ever know.

As we all depart from the place we used to dread coming too, I know we will all miss it.

I will always regret taking my senior year for granted, but I will never regret being a Kearsley Hornet.

So as I leave my senior year, my classmates and teachers, I also leave you with one thing I will always believe, and I hope you believe it too.

You will be great.