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A LETTER TO HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS & EIGHTH GRADERS
Dear Seniors and 8th Graders,
When we were little, we did not know that problems altered our world. We were young, and our loved ones shielded us from the crises that bombarded us. As we grew older, we began to see that not everything does go our way; but sometimes, we pushed and created a different way that pleased us. We have experienced flooding, power-outages, dangerously high winds that kept us home, that intersected our plans, that put life on hold for a few days. C'est la vie! Es la vida! But, we knew that we would be back to normal!
Then, in March 2020, COVID-19 turned our world upside-down! No one could shield us from it; we could not push our way through it. We do not know when the new normal will come or how the new normal will look. CV-19 demanded sheltering-in-place, social distancing, no on-site schooling, no celebrations, no Disneyland trip. I do not doubt that you could deal with these, but one hurt your heart: no graduation or promotion ceremony as you had anticipated. Nevertheless, according to your desires to have a semblance of a ceremony, your site administrators and counselors and teachers and others have planned diligently to provide a meaningful way to honor you and to recognize your promoting to ninth grade and culminating your secondary education. You have worked diligently and deserve the best that SUSD can provide at this time. It takes much soul-searching to be settled with this alternate acknowledgment in place of the traditional ceremony. I suspect that it hurts! But, it will hurt only for a little while. Your success will supersede the event!
In 2008, I composed "Looking Beyond" for my seniors who were looking forward, though apprehensively, to their lives beyond Soledad High School. Eight-grade students, this poem will apply to you, as well, as you nervously anticipate life beyond Main Street Middle School. I taught 9th graders, so I know. Please, accept this poem as my commencement benediction to you all.
Look Beyond
As you look toward graduation,
life beyond Soledad High School, and
education in a myriad of locales,
ruminate on these truths.
Graduation
connotes not merely
an ending of one chapter of your life;
moreover,
graduation,
otherwise called commencement,
ushers you into the next volume of your saga.
Achieving your goals
occurs not merely on a date in time;
rather,
achieving your goals
results via a trek
through unmapped territories
where new discoveries manifest themselves and,
thereby,
determine your continued pursuit.
Every goal draws nearer with your every step toward it.
Stand proudly!
Survey judiciously!
Stride confidently!
Celebrate jubilantly!
(Julia Turner, 2008)
Congratulations, Class of 2024!
Congratulations, Class of 2020!
John Ekelund
Unlocking the Future Today!