[To get the full effect of this post, listen to this song while you read]
Hi, it has been a REALLY long time. I have been a little busy...graduating! Yes, I am now completely done with high school. What a strange feeling. It hasn't really hit me yet; it probably won't hit me until school starts next year.
I have the best friends in the world, I am so proud of my class and grateful to have been in the most amazing class to graduate Christ Church Academy (in my opinion).
I am also so proud of the junior class who has spent the last year taking most of their classes with us. They are amazing, and I am so glad that they won the overcomer's award this year at the school.
They deserved it.
They have become some of my best friends this last year, and my senior year would not have been as fun without them. I will miss them so much next year, but I am glad that I will not be going far. We will visit often :)
Here is the speech that I gave at graduation about our past years at CCA.
Good evening family, friends, and
class of 2013! It is an absolute privilege to speak to you tonight about the
many years that we have invested here at Christ Church Academy. Class of 2013, you are the most incredible,
adventurous, yet caring class. You are
my best friends. Our years here have
certainly been hard at times, but the journey was worth it, the investment into
the school was worth it, and the pay-off is worth it.
Looking back, we were quite the
rambunctious group of kids. There were
so many different personalities squished together in one class that it would
take us a while to figure out how to get along.
There were the loud ones, the quite ones, the crazy ones, the reserved
ones, the troublemakers, the tattle-tailers, and everything between. Through our elementary years, we grew
together as a class as we learned, most often the hard way, how to get
along. Those were our training years
that began to build the foundations for a unified class. As we
learned how to be unified, we were also being trained to make the most of every
moment in school because it wasn’t going to last forever. And now standing here at our graduation
ceremony, wearing the cap and gown, about to receive our diplomas, we certainly
know that.
Looking a bit more recently, our
secondary years were times of testing to ensure that we really owned the truths
that we had gained in elementary as our foundation. We lost several classmates through the
transition of elementary to secondary, but these original seven that had been
there since Basic Skills remained. Over
the secondary years, Aunt Marcy prophesied over us, we were leaders, we were called
to unity, we were ambassadors, we were refined gold. In secondary, we had to make conscious
decisions each year. Would we be leaders or just try to make it through each
year without leaving any investment into the younger kids? Would we be unified
or would we just each do our own thing to make it through? Would we be Christ’s
ambassadors or would we decide what was right for ourselves? Would we be that
refined gold that has proven itself or would we accomplish little and just try
to make it through each year? Each year
we had to decide, and each year it was difficult. BUT each year we found victory. We are leaders, we are unified, we are ambassadors,
we are refined gold.
This year was unlike any year I
have had at CCA. Just before the year started, our friend, mentor, teacher,
pastor, and couch Dennis Trout passed away.
This began the year with sadness and uncertainty, but as a senior class,
we wanted to go through this year, honoring Coach’s legacy. Just before this year, the junior class lost
a number of classmates. As a result, we received three incredible, sweet
friends into our class from the 11th grade, and it has only grown us
and made this year even better than it would have been with just us seven. Through
these apparent setbacks, we have still found victory this year.
This class of 2013 are your
friends, sons, daughters, and grandchildren.
With your help, we have found victory this year and all of the years
before in CCA and for that we are truly grateful. We love all of you dearly.
So here is to the last thirteen years that I have invested at Christ Church Academy!
Here is to my graduated class!
