Trust System And Ourselves, U-Hi Grad Says

We are the University High School class of 1997. We have survived almost a decade and a half of toil and drudgery and finally we have reached the climax. After all of those years working and laboring for this goal that seemed would never arrive, here we are.

Now, at the close of our career at University High, we have a chance to reflect on those years. We have a chance to look back and pat ourselves on the back, knowing that our struggles were not in vain. Yet, among those memories of the work and strain - the things that were all glad to see go - are the good times that we’re all going to miss. Still, that’s the price we pay for wanting this so much.

So, what exactly do we have now as a class of graduating seniors? Of course there is the decade and a half of book studies and rote memory that we’ll all take with us. However, I believe that we’ve learned a great deal more than that. You see, high school is not just a time of studies and text work. It is a period for us all to spread our wings a little bit and grow into the young adults we are today.

Beyond our obvious education, we’ve learned lessons more vital than any that can be taught in a classroom. We have learned how to stand together on an issue yet we have also learned how to stand alone. We’ve learned how to have friends, how to be friends, and how to act as blossoming adults in today’s society. After all, we are the future.

But what of the future? Most of us already have plans of college or otherwise and have finally taken control of our own destinies.

Now we are growing beyond the hopes of our parents, becoming more and more independent each and every day. We have taken our own paths, forged new fates for ourselves, and set the goals that will either make us or break us.

Among our classmates, the future doctors, lawyers, engineers, politicians, and the like lay sleeping inside each respective individual. These need to be fostered very, very carefully for we are investing in the future of our society.

Which leads us to the question that is on all of our minds: “Are we prepared?” How does one answer this? Only time will show us whether we have adequately equipped ourselves or not. All we can do is trust the system and, of greater import, trust ourselves.

Do not fear for us. We have done everything that we could and have spent our entire youth preparing for this event, our emergence into the adult world. We can do no more but pray.

In closing, we, the University High School class of 1997, would like to send a collective message to all of our parents, to all of our teachers, and to anybody and everybody who helped us make it through these tough years: Thank you for your support, for your dedication, for your care and concern. It might seem that we take all of you for granted, but we don’t intend to. Thus, we are taking this opportunity to express our appreciation.

Finally, to all of my classmates: Congratulations, we did it! I wish all of you the best of luck on your careers and can’t wait to see you at the reunions. Enjoy this time for there will be none like it in your entire life.

God bless you all.

Garth Overman plans to attend Pepperdine University and work toward a law career.