CLASS OF 2025

 BY WALLACE CALEB BATES

This afternoon, I attended a Class of 2025 high school graduation, an event marked by songs from seniors, memories shared by speakers, and inspirational reflections on the years this class spent in high school. 

It feels like yesterday that I graduated from high school. Now, with my master's degree and a "real" job, I feel so disconnected from that time in my life. That is not necessarily a bad thing; it is a reflection of the way we grow and mature as we feel the heavy hand of time. 

There are many lessons I would tell my younger self at that point if given the opportunity. 

A.) Life is too short to spend it worried about what people think about you. 

B.) Your matter is not determined by the way people treat you. 

C.) You are perfect just the way you are, and there are no questions about that. 

... and I could go on, but I will not. I am not alone in thinking about these things; if given the opportunity, the majority of people would choose to shelter their younger selves from difficult times. 

However, as I looked out at the sea of caps and gowns, I could not help but think about how the difficult days ahead for these young people in the U.S.'s largest graduating class ever of nearly 4 million people would teach them just as much as the good ones. 

My grandmother has long told me that flowers do not grow on the mountaintop. Her sentiment has proven true in my life time and time again, allowing me to hike the steep mountains and reflect on the valleys of tulips below. 

As one person highlighted, this year's graduating class has faced numerous obstacles: a pandemic that halted the formative years of their educational experience, the uncertainty of a world reeling from rapid change, and the pressure of navigating a digital age that moves faster than anyone can prepare for. 

They have been asked to adapt, persist, and find their footing in a world that keeps shifting beneath them. Somehow, they have. These students are not just survivors of a challenging era; they are the architects of what comes next. 

The resilience they have built over these years will not fade. It will reverberate through their careers, families, and communities. They have learned to carry on in times of silence, to celebrate in the face of sorrow, and to hope in the midst of hardship.

Looking out over that crowd, I thought about how each graduate is stepping into a future none of us can fully predict. Some will attend college, others will enter the workforce, and some will pursue training programs or family-owned businesses. However, all of them are entering a world that needs their compassion, courage, and creativity.

And while they may not yet know the roads they will travel, I hope they remember this: the valleys are not empty spaces; they are where things grow. The hard days will come. So will the doubts, the detours, and the heartaches. But so will the breakthroughs. So will the victories. So will the tulips.

To the Class of 2025, walk boldly into this next chapter. Be good to one another. Remember that you are not defined by the heights you reach but by how you treat others on the way up and how you carry yourself when things feel low. And above all, seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly. The world is better with you in it.

Congratulations! 

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