There are 365 days in a year, but as a senior in high school, there is only one day constantly on your mind: graduation.

Eighteen years ago, you each took your first breath of air that this life had to offer. You were born into a world so full of hate, misery and tragedy. You were born into a world so full of generosity, opportunities and success. You were born in a world where there is war and there is love.

Ten years ago, you were children. You were young, naive, and the world was waiting for your indulgence. You were dependent on your parents to provide a life for you. The most exciting part of your day was recess. When asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” you replied: teacher, firefighter, cheerleader and rockstar. One of your most difficult choices was standing in the lunch line and choosing between chocolate milk and apple juice.

Eighteen years have come and gone, and here you are: at the very end of your childhood. It’s safe to say that at this point all of you have experienced your own form of life and death, success and failure, happiness and sorrow. You have spent 18 years on this earth, and the last twelve have been spent in school preparing you for a lifetime of your own choices and dreams.

For the last four years, many of you have bounced back and forth between having a strong hatred for high school and also a sincere love for it. These last few years of your adolescence are a pivotal time in your lives. You have each run into countless roadblocks, challenging setbacks, and you try and try again — you try so hard to achieve your own version of success — but sometimes, even your best efforts are not enough. You all face rough patches and you all wish that you could have it “easy.”

That’s what makes life so valuable, though. You cannot claim to fulfill a satisfying life if you are not willing to live through the obstacles and come out on top. The future holds so many bright things for each of you, and while it may be scary to move on from what you know to be familiar, you have your whole lives ahead of you. Your dreams are at the tips of your fingers and it is now time to watch them unfold.

The last four years have been some of the best, and some of the worst, years of your lives. Throughout the last eighteen years, each of you has endured your own personal tragedies, successes and impactful experiences that have shaped you into the people you are today. You have worked hard. You have stayed up into the night while battling procrastination, and have fought your sleepy eyes to stay awake during class. You have lost friends and you have gained friends. Some of you have even lost yourselves along the way, but what is most important is that you have done your best. You have stood together, side-by-side, since your first day of freshman year, and you will until the last name is called at graduation. You have grown into your future and are only resting on the brink of a new life. As divided as you are, you will soon stand together, one last time, before you walk away from one another and choose a path of your own success.

Many of you will go to college, or get a job, but most importantly you will each start a life of your own. What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of your lives haven’t happened yet.

These last four years have consisted of laughter, adventure, opportunities and several learning experiences that you will treasure for the rest of your lives. You seek what you know to be familiar, yet you cannot help but crave the foreign and strange. You have your whole lives ahead of you, so please — dare to begin.