Tomorrow night the second to last of my seventh grade students will be graduating. I have had other students and other mentees graduate in the past. There is something different about this group. They were seventh grade students when I first met them – 12 and 13 years olds – still babes. Tomorrow, they leave the safety of their school to go out into the world. Some will go on to college, some will work to find a job, others will join the military. I wish I could be there to see them walk, but, alas, family obligations keep from being there. Perhaps that is a good thing since I am sure that my eyes would have a misting problem.
Tonight, they are still my kids – I told all my students once one of my kids always one of my kids. Tonight, I still see them as middle school students. So, for the last time as Burbank students, I have one last thing to say to them.
Dear students,
First, I want to say congratulations. You are about to walk across a stage to pick up a diploma that says you have reached the first peak of many that you will climb in your lifetime. Take some time to enjoy the view from this one, but don’t linger too long. Life was not meant to be spent sitting in one place. Others need to be reminded to look before starting your next path. Either way take the time to enjoy. You have earned this and deserve the time. Then get going on the next journey.
As you head out of the nest that has been your home for the last 12 years, remember that no matter what is happening in your life, you are never alone. This is something to remember in the most difficult of times. You are not alone. I will say it again. You are not alone. Life is not always easy – some of you learned that lesson a long time ago. Life will have its ups and downs. During your up times, it is easy to find people to be with you. During the down periods, there will times in which you feel as if you are alone and no one is with you. This is not the truth. Even in the darkest of times you will always have others with you; all you have to do is reach out and look. Think about those with whom you have spent the last four or more years. Those friends may travel far in physical miles, but they will be with you in spirit whenever you need them.
If there is one thing that I hope you learned from me (other than proper writing) is that nothing is permanent. Go after your dreams, but do not be afraid to reevaluate your path often. Just because you said that you wanted to have a specific career when you were six doesn’t mean that that is who you are today. Do have a plan, do have a goal, and go for it. However, if you start down that path and find out it is not what you want or not what you had expected – change. This life is too short for you to be stuck in a job you hate for four decades because you believe it is what others expect of you. As long as you are able to handle your responsibilities (family, bills, self) then change.
The most important thing is that you must DO. You must try, you must work, you must learn to be dependent. I hope you learned this by being in my class. Do not sit around waiting for others to take care of you. Do not expect that jobs will come to you. You must go out and find them. You must interview. You must earn it. Do not blame others when things don’t work out for you. Yes. Others’ actions might affect events within your life, but in the end – you are responsible for your actions.
The next piece of advice is for you to start saving – four years ago. There is no promise of a pension or social security by the time you reach retirement age. You being able to take care of yourself and your family is dependent upon you being able to save. Talk to those who know what they are doing and start saving for your old age now. It is a proven fact that those who start early will have a better chance of being able to retire and stay at a comfortable level. Save not only for retirement, but save for that rainy day when the car breaks down or the water heater quits. Save for those high-priced items that you so desire. The less you depend on plastic and credit the easier your life will be. I wish that someone had sat me down early in life and helped me understand just what saving meant and then helped me set it up. Do not become so burdened with bills that you are living paycheck to paycheck.
Al of the above is very serious advice. It is my worrying about you being able to survive in this world. Now for the other side of the coin.
I remember sitting in class and listening to you talked about English and so much more. Your personal connections to stories being read or topics being discussed lead to laughter, thought, tears, and so much more. I got to know you all, not as students, but as budding young adults. You shared your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your sadness, and your pains. I saw the beauty inside each and every one of you. Poetry Café was one time in which you all broke down walls and let people in to know you a little better.
Some of you were so quiet that one could almost forget you were there. Some studious to the point that I worried about your stress levels. Some were struggling with internal conflict brought on by school, home, and elsewhere. Others shouted out or tried to be the class clowns – some for attention others trying out new material. What I saw were 35 unique individuals each period – no two periods the same. Through it all, you became my kids.
I remember so many of you sitting in my class during lunch – the chess games, Battleship, conversations, music, and fun. I tried to tell you that I was the meanest teacher on campus. I really tried. Yet I couldn’t do it. You all saw right through the façade. I worried about each and every one of you from the first day you walked in my door. I listened to your problems and tried to understand how difficult it was to be a teen today. I wondered how you found the strength. You all proved to be so much stronger than I could ever be.
So tomorrow (or today depending on the reading), May 27, 2016, you will cease to be high school students and you will become graduates. You will be looked at as adults. People will be expecting greater things from you. I know and have known for many years that you are capable of all of that and more.
The last thing I want to say is live. Do not be afraid to go out there and live. Try new things. Explore the world. Make the world better. Have few regrets. This can be the scariest piece of all. Too many people find a comfort zone and stay in it. Don’t be afraid to be goofy and silly. If there is one thing I wish it would be that I had laughed more. Don’t be so focused on climbing all the peaks in your life that you forget to enjoy yourself while you are doing it.
So congratulations once again. Job well done. You have not only passed you classes, but you have passed through the problems and tribulations that have blocked your paths. You deserve the pat on the back.
Now it is time to say good-bye. I wish you the best. I worry for each and every one of you still today. I pray that you have been given the tools you will need to succeed in whatever it is that you chose to do. My children no more. Adults you have become. I wipe away some dust that seems to have come into my eye as I picture you all walking across the stage. Seventh graders start up the steps and soon morph into the wonderful people you are today. Thank you for allowing me to be some small part of your life.
Good-bye and good luck.
Mr. Martin