Fellow graduates, I know it’s easy to view today as the conclusion of a chapter of our lives. After all, graduation is the end of high school. However, I challenge you to not look at today as the end, but rather, the beginning of the next chapter of our lives.

For the first time for many of us, we are taking charge of our next steps. Yet, despite being in control, our futures are still largely unknown. Some of us will be going to college, joining the military, getting a job, but none of us really know what that next step will look like.

These unknown aspects of the future can be frightening. It is natural to resist change and to cling to what feels familiar, but if we cling to our past, all we’re doing is holding ourselves back. We must be willing to embrace the changes in our lives, for every change in life is a new opportunity to improve; a new opportunity to achieve your dreams. If we resist the changes in our lives that we will face in the near future, we are resisting our chance to transform the world.

When I think of the power of change, I am often drawn back to one of my favorite quotes from Bruce Springsteen. He reminds us that “you can’t start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart.” There is great wisdom in his words. We can’t achieve our dreams and make the changes we want to see in the world if we are afraid of the unknown. After today, I challenge you to embrace the next chapter of your life and start a fire that will lead you to live the life you have always imagined.

Thank you for your time and good luck in all that you go on to accomplish.

(Finn Koehler is the Fitch High School Class of 2020 Valedictorian.)