A Wise Bear Once Told Me

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard," a wise bear once told me. It's funny how the childhood cartoons are often the ones with the most meaningful quotes. Winnie the Pooh was a smart bear whose wise words stick to the heart like sweet honey.

Today was my high school's third graduating class. 31 members. They are officially the smallest graduating class that will ever graduate from our high school. As our Executive Director said today, though, that is exactly what made their impact on our school all the more powerful.

It was bittersweet, seeing the seniors in their caps and gowns. The selfish side of me wanted them to stay, but I knew and I know they are destined for greater things. I am amazed by how much they have grown just in the last year. Seeing them onstage, receiving their diplomas...they all had this fire in their eyes. They are so ready for the real world, even if they don't believe they are.

As I heard the graduation speeches, I got to thinking about my own future. If I had graduated today, what would I have said in my speech? What would teachers say about me? I am halfway done with high school. Many of the teachers referenced the growth they saw in the junior and senior years of the graduates. I can't help but wonder if the person standing on that stage two years from now will be different from the one who sat in the audience today and held back her tears as her friends received their diplomas. And if so, who will that person be? It's strange to think of myself changing, yet I know I inevitably will. I just can't imagine how or when that will happen.

But for now, I just have to focus on "now." The best things in life often come when we're just living in the moment, not lingering on the past or dwelling on the future. Because, as Winnie the Pooh said,
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why we call it the present." So many seniors talked about how fast high school flew by. I'm already halfway done. Two years from now, I want to be able to look back and say I made the most of it.

Congratulations to the Class of 2013!