We are all gathered here today to honor the end of one journey in our lives, and to begin a new one. For loved ones, this may be a very emotional time. Your graduate is preparing to take their first steps on a new journey, one with bigger, scarier things. For friends, this may be a very sad time as the friends we grew up with might no longer live just across the street or across town. However for us, The Class of 2018, this is a very exciting bittersweet time as we end our high school journey and embark on the journey to adulthood.

Freshman year, the building seemed huge. I personally remember getting lost several times, and wishing the school had implemented a GPS system. Beginning High School for me, and like most others was a great change. As a class, we were given a lot more freedom and there were so many courses that could be taken. Our boats finally left the dock of Middle School, and we were off to the next step; growing into adults. In Middle School, we were all still kids who thought we were mature adults. Phone usage and gum chewing were punishable crimes once, that were allowed and acceptable in high school. Our new found trust in the school was our first maneuver towards the path of adulthood. As we felt we had more trust, and freedom we eliminated most of the sneaky behavior we did in middle school. We began to see this was not necessary, and that as long as we followed the rules we would not be punished.  

Our next step on our journey through high school, sophomore year was a bit of a rougher patch, yet also one of our best years. Sophomore year we went from being the youngest in the school to second year students. Sophomore year was a little weird, we were not the youngest in the school yet not the oldest either. We were kind of just there, and were treated more as adults than we were Freshman year. It was the first step to growth and maturity for many of us. This year, we transformed from lost puppies to full on North experts. The next step on our path to adulthood, we all became more self sufficient. With the attention of the school and upperclassmen more focused on those a year younger than us, and the seniors, we began to take more responsibility for our own actions. I say with full confidence that Sophomore year was when I spent the least amount of time in guidance. My counselor, who knows for a fact I was the senior to come in every single day can probably vouch for that. I was able to figure things out for myself, and did not need much help this year. Many of my other peers probably feel the same way. Sophomore year was a great transition from Freshman year, and a nice easy year compared to junior year.

Freshman and Sophomore year, both fun years only brought forward the rigorous Junior Year. Junior year for most of us, was our first step towards college preparation. Our path of adulthood finally brought us to the dreaded junior year.  It had finally occurred to all of us that we were only going to be High Schoolers for another two years. Junior year was rough all around, it challenged students of all course levels. We all had to begin seriously thinking about our futures; getting good grades, taking the SATs, joining a bunch of clubs, applying for honors societies. All just to build our college resumes and take the first steps needed to consider our future. Some of us knew by the end of the year which colleges to apply for, yet many others still were at a loss as to where to go and what to study. All of us here today can have the pleasure of saying “ I survived Junior Year”. That on its own is a great achievement.

Finally, here we are. The end of Senior Year. For all of us, this year happened in two parts. Part one consisted of the college application process, or figuring out what our plan for next year was. This first part was intense, almost as intense as Junior year was. It brought us to a testing time in our adulthood. We were beginning to see that the life as we knew it would be soon over. In a matter of months, every single one of us would be moving onto new places, meeting new people, and learning new things. It was scary, and exciting at the same time, once we finished this year it hit us all that we would be adults. No matter where life took us, we all had one thing in common. We would soon be on our own and self sufficient, productive adults.  While we were all figuring out our plans, and worrying about those we were also attempting to keep up with our course load and extracurriculars. I know personally, this part of the year was very difficult to manage school work, college applications, extracurriculars, and social life. However, with every dark night comes an even brighter day, and we all made it to that day! Part two was possibly the best of times I have had at North. I knew where I was going next year, and everything began to wind down. We all had the same feeling of relief when our plans for next year were finalized at last, and classes began to wind down. All that was left to do was to say goodbye. This was our final stage in the path of adulthood, we had to prepare to say goodbye and move on. Many of us suffered from senioritis- a popular epidemic that affects seniors everywhere. However, all of us who stand here today made it and we are all on our way to the next stage in our lives. This new path we will take will be out first steps as adults. We will in the years to come, learn who we want to be, what we want to do with our lives, and how we will lead our lives.

Middletown High School North, in the words of Mrs. Ellen Hill “It was the best of times, and the worst of times”. Through everything though, the Class of 2018 stayed strong and became a family. Years from now we'll all look back at this day, and be proud to have been a part of North Nation. As we all go off on our separate paths, it is important to remember the wise words  of possibly one of all of our favorite authors Dr. Seuss,

“Congratulations, today is your day! You’re off to great places you’re off and away!”

Good luck Class of 2018, I hope life takes you in the direction you choose. Never forget what it means to be a North Lion.