Dear Teacher of a Graduate,
You feel old, don’t you? I know. I’ve been there. You’re also feeling something else, but you can’t quite put your finger on the right word.
Proud is one adjective, yes, but there’s more, and truthfully, I could flip the dictionary from cover to cover and still find myself grappling for a word that doesn’t exist.
Have you ever been hungry, but couldn’t really say what would hit the spot?
That’s similar to the quest for finding the right word, so instead of trying to find the right word, I’ll just describe what I mean the best way I know how.
That tassel. It seems so small but woven in every strand is a day I loved you.
That gown. How is it possible that you look so grown all of a sudden?
That cap. Please do not paint “Mamma Tried” on the top.
That toss. You know that’s the best way to get head lice, right?
That strut. You’re going to make it in this world. I just know it. Keep that confidence.
That diploma. It’s not just a piece of paper.
It’s a passport from where you are to where you’re going next.
I know I wasn’t the only one who helped you make it to a new land, but I was "one" and that is pretty special.
In most graduation speeches, a really smart kid picks a quote to share with a group of sweaty-palmed 18- year-olds who are praying they don’t fall when they cross the stage. As such, they never remember the quote that was said, just like they won’t remember this one. However, to the Class of 2021 if you are reading this, I have a special quote for you.
You were the first group of ninth graders I ever taught, and you learned quickly how much I love quotes. I am sure I even used this one for a daily warm up, but today it means even more to me than it did then.
Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, “I am the sum total of all I have met.” I know what he means.
Today, I am Jayden, Sam, Xavier, Alex, Alan, Sebastian, Mabry, Autumn, Kenzie, MK, Robert, Arianna, Aiden, Jet, Heather, Emory, Sarah, Megan, Micah, Savannah, Augustine, JB, and every other incoming freshman who ever walked through the door of Room 613.
A few years from now, I’ll be an accountant, a nurse, a pilot, a dentist, a pediatrician, a lawyer, a welder, an electrician, and every other profession under the sun.
Above all, I hope I’ll be the kind of person you were, the kind who starts out unsure but quickly realizes if you can do it, I can too.
Thanks for the memories and for helping me gain my passport too. I sure do love you, and I know your other teachers do too.
Now, when you’re rich and famous don’t forget the ninth grade English teacher who loaned you a pen when you didn’t have one and stressed the importance of writing every single day.
You had no idea both were so you could one day write me a check, did you?
-CDB