Parents, family, friends, faculty, and most importantly, the Class of 2004.

Today is the day that some of us have been looking forward to since the first day of kindergarten. For others, like me, it has taken a bit longer to get used to the idea of leaving our home and family and friends and beginning new, independent lives. The future is a place filled with excitement and possibilities, as well as fear and uncertainty. Our paths are not drawn for us yet. Our futures are whatever we make them to be.

Standing here today, I am reminded of all the great times that we have had together, from field trips to just joking around in class. We will never get these moments back, but they have made us so close as friends. We have had a lot to go through and over come, but we were able to get through the tough times because we stuck together. We've been able to depend on each other. We've been able to inspire each other and give hope where hope was so desperately needed. We've always been there for each other. Our class is, in many ways, a family. We fight and pick on each other and really get on each other's nerves sometimes, but those things don't last What lasts is the bond that we all share. The bond is indescribable, but we all know it's there and can never be broken. I can only hope that after we all go our separate ways, this bond will stay intact. Even if we are all never in the same room again, I hope that each one of us will look back and smile at all the times we shared. To our parents, thank you for always being there for us, even when we didn't want you to be. You always pushed us to be more than we thought we could be, and for that we are eternally grateful. You are the instruments in our lives that have allowed us to succeed. So for all you've done for us, willingly and unselfishly, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. In closing, I would like to share with you an excerpt from a poem by Turlough O'Carolan.

Together we learned how to read, Together learned to play, To add and multiply our friends, To give and to recieve.

Our teachers taught us how to lead, To put our tears away, To seperate our means and ends, To work and to achieve.

And now we step across a line; Our childhood is gone. Soon, just like a morning dream, The memories will fade.

But if we turn out good and kind, Rejoicing the sun, We'll know to thank these sheltered years where our first joys remain.

To the class of 2004, I want to thank you for being my family these past thirteen years, and i want you all to know that I will always hold a special place for you in my heart.