Emilee Wynn: New Beginnings
by Emilee Wynn, Valedictorian of the Class of 2021
These past few weeks have felt so unreal that I will finally be graduating; and like many of you, thinking that the schedule that I have known for the last 12 years will soon end, I also felt like my whole world was coming to an end.
Then I realized that -- although this is the end of high school -- my story is quite far from over. I’m going to start a new chapter in my life, and that calls for a celebration.
The time has come to recognize ourselves and who we want to be as workers or students, soldiers or citizens, sons or daughters, and maybe someday -- parents.
While we should be thankful for the friendships, the experiences, and the lessons, it is time for us to put our new lives into motion and the results of our experiences into action. Though it’s hard to bid farewell to our old selves, former ways, and forever friends, we must learn to appreciate the beauty of new beginnings.
During my time here in LCCTC, I’ve come to expect the unexpected. During Covid, I know many of us found it hard to deal with the effects of quarantine -- heck, some have found it hard to even believe it exists, but the reality is that even though our jobs, our school, and our habits were put on hold, our lives were not. There were moments over this past year that were frightening to everyone. But despite all that was against us we still pushed through. The world keeps spinning, and this world deserves us at our very best. I am proud to walk with those who trusted in themselves when it was hard to trust in anything and with those who helped their friends and even family push through when things got tough.
I would like to wish you all the best for your own New Beginning -- no matter what that is. May all of your dreams be fulfilled, may you remember the lessons we’ve learned together, and may you never forget to learn something new every day. I wish that these last two years were different for us, but I have pride in the person I’ve grown into during my time here in LCCTC, and I’m proud of you, too. I would like to say congrats to all you here.
I would also like to say thank you to -- the graduates of 2021 -- for doing your part to keep the school and student body united. Thank you for staying safe and trusting in our teachers to lead us here today. Thank you parents and family, for supporting and encouraging us to do our best and just get through and finish. Thank you administration for figuring it all out so we could be here together today.
Thank you!
