Dr. Valenti, Mr. Stark, Teachers, The Board of Education, Parents, friends, and fellow members of the Blind Brook High School Class of 2008; it is a great pleasure and a special honor for me to be speaking with you today.
Approximately 4,678 days or 12 years, 9 months, and 21 days ago, we began on a journey. And today, we find ourselves not ending our journey, but taking a moment to realize how far we have come since we left our parents’ arms and entered the hallowed halls of Ridge Street Elementary School.
Since we entered a world full of nap time, recess, miniature towns, lockers, bake sales, and the ever-dreaded exam, we have been taught to always do our best and to work hard. And for the most part, whether it’s been because we genuinely enjoyed a topic, were encouraged by a caring teacher, or moved by the words of an author, or, perhaps out of the simple fear of our mothers seeing poor report cards, we have tried to do our best. Well, at least most of us have.
The idea of “doing our best,” however, has evolved over time. In elementary school, doing our best meant perfecting our imperfect handwriting and learning about the hamburger style of essay writing. In middle school, it was surviving a new and unfamiliar place and exploring Outdoor Ed while preparing ourselves for the future, perhaps guided by the words of Jennings Michael Burch who wrote in “They Cage the Animals at Night,”--- “Education is the most important thing you can have . . . If you have that, it’s yours. Nobody can take that away.”
And on the first day of high school, “doing our best” took on more urgent meaning when we were told by Mr. Baxter that, “this time it counts,” meaning that from that first moment on, every test, quiz, paper, or extra-curricular activity was important for not only reaching this very day, but more importantly, developing our minds.
And while the notion of hard work and doing our best has evolved, there has been one concept that has stayed constant, change.
In the race for the White House, We heard it from Hillary. We hear it from Barack. And we hear it from John. They constantly say that they are “Fighting for Change,” “Ready for Change,” and have “Change we can believe in.”
Blind Brook isn’t “Fighting for Change.”
Why, you may ask? Because, we are change. As a group, as a grade, and as a school, we have been educated to make academic curiosity and volunteerism second nature. From Elementary School as a part of the Green Key Society, to the High School Community Service requirement, we are all prepared to not make change, but to be change.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” As we embark into life beyond Blind Brook, there is one fundamental lesson we can take away from this small town. We must never wait for others to accomplish the seemingly impossible; we must blaze the trail of happiness and success for ourselves. John Mayer sings the popular song, “Waiting for the World to Change,” which says that the young people of the world are currently powerless and, unfortunately, must wait their turn to make a difference. While extremely popular, his song is neither accurate nor the message I share with you today. We must be part of the change, not the result, but rather the cause of change.
And as we look towards the future, we can not forget the values and life lessons that the people around us have shared with all of us. Blind Brook hasn’t taught us what to think, but rather how to think. We must be our own advocates for change—using the lessons from home and the opportunities that await us.
Beno
As we try to improve our future, as the good book says, we can’t forget tradition. Like Tevya, in Fiddler on the Roof, says, [Spoken by Andrew Benowich] “Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions our lives would be as shaky as, as... as a fiddler on the roof!”
It may be somewhat of an oxymoron, but traditions needn’t be “age old.” As agents of change, we have been a part of new traditions: we were the last kindergarten class under the leadership of Mr. Bruno M. Ponterio, we were the last 6th grade class at Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School, we were the first to compete on the new fields, some of us were the first to get lost in our own high school, we were the first to experience clubs after school, and members of our class were the first to be inducted into the Journalism Honor Society as writers for a truly independent FOCUS newspaper.
Whether you loved Blind Brook or can’t wait for next year, we are rooted in our school’s unique culture and ideas.
During our four years at Blind Brook, traditions and activities have taught us valuable lessons and given us opportunities and challenges that we would otherwise never have had. Soccer championships, Mock Trial championships, FOCUS awards, High School Theater Awards, and even Spanish Club’s taco eating contests have made Blind Brook great.
Tradition is not palpable, it is not something that we can touch, but yet it is an always present force which can touch us: it touches our hearts, it touches our souls, and it has made and will continue to make Blind Brook the special place we call Home. As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home!” Compare all you want, but because of “tradition,” there’s no place like Blind Brook.
404,179,200 seconds or 6,736,320 minutes or 112,272 hours later, which ever way you want to slice the past 13 years, our journey has not concluded. Instead, we write a new chapter and begin a new clock for the future. To the Class of 2008, those 13 years have amazingly been the most stressful, happy, anxious, and joyful times that we will never forget. Don’t worry about the future, but at the same time, don’t forget your roots. Remember all the good times, but don’t forget the bad ones either. You never know when they will come in handy. Enjoy being a youth. Enjoy life. You only live it once. But most importantly, don’t fight change that makes you, your community, and your world better. Instead, take chances and be the change you want to see in the world.
As Dr. Seuss once said, “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.” Today is our day. Congratulations to the Class of 2008, it’s been a great 4,678 days.
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