A Great Day: Today Is A Good Day

Today is a good day. No—today is a great day. A day like today has been year in the making. Today is a day for victory, a day for celebration, a day for pride. Today is a day for us to take a deep breath, lift our voices, and say, “I did it. I deserve success, and I will go out and find it.” However, while today may a day for rest, of relief, of anticipation of what comes next, today is also a day to understand exactly what we are leaving behind: a school full of our memories, our achievements, our legacy. The word “legacy” is a powerful, overwhelming statement; it describes how a single person or a whole group can build upon what they have accomplished so that they can grow and, eventually, touch the lives of others. A legacy is shaped by

Today, we recognize the people—friends, family, and teachers alike—who have worked so hard and made so many sacrifices so that we could enjoy a day like today. Today, we recognized the people who touches us, who inspired us, who paved the way for us to continue onward, their legacy becoming our legacy. Remember their names.

Today is a day to remember. Today is a day for us to pause and truly live in the moment, so when we are asked about today, we will always be able to describe what it was like. Today is a day to realize that while we we have come so far, our journey is not over. Remember that today is still a long way away for some. Remember that as long as there are those who doubt, those who cannot see themselves in our place, we cannot stop. We can be an example. Our legacy in moving forward shows them that they can carry

I had to move a lot when I was growing up, the most drastic change was having to move from Indiana down to Knoxville, Tennessee. I was never able to truly find my place. I was there, but I didn’t feel like a belonged. This school was different. Getting the acceptable letter at the end of my 8th grade year was without a doubt the turning point in my life, whether I knew it then or not. This school si where I felt like I belonged. This school had a sense of community, a sense of unity, that I have never seen before. As many of you know, I often worked in our school’s library/media center, and I say first hand how instrumental every single one of us is. I have had the privilege to watch this school and this class grow up along with me and accomplish as much as we did, and we did it together as a family, our gryphon