Congratulations!...

First off, Congratulations to the 5ive, we've made it and not just by the skin of our teeth, but we truly made it. Over the past 3 to 4 years we've seen some of our friends fall and make decisions that shouldn't have been made (we're guilty of that ourselves) but fortunately we are all still together to celebrate one of the greatest accomplishments of our lives.

Now that the years have become the months and the months have become the weeks we are faced with the challenge of leaving behind our final memories and legacies. How will we be remembered here? Have we done enough to shape the School because it most certainly has shaped us? What will we remember about our time here? I refuse to look back on my high school experience as a time of misery, teenage angst or a negative time because quite frankly it wasn't at all. No, it hasn't been always easy, I haven't always felt comfortable or like I was a part of the community. None of us have been constantly happy here and no one can expect that of any place they go. So when I walk under the White Tent (or not...I can't believe they got rid of it, that's some BS, but that's for another post), I will know that I made the right decision to spend the last four years of my life with some of the greatest people I have ever or ever will meet.

On May 31, I will ask myself one question: What does Congratulations mean for me? Does it mean that I am simply graduating with honors and distinctions and going to the college of my choice in the fall? Is it because of my positions of leadership that I have successfully completed? Yes, all those things are good and well, but what has that Third Former learned from me that will help him to have an easier time navigating through this place? What has the teacher who has never taught a student from the South learned about where I come from? If I (you/any of us) have changed the mind, the thinking or a small part of anyone else's life for the better, you deserve a Congratulations. You have succeeded.

-Brian B.

La vie coule comme une rivière