In the spring of 2011, I was 8 years old. We all were — 8 or 9. It was the end of third grade, which took place, for me, at Pleasant Valley Elementary School. It was the day that our long-awaited yearbooks had finally arrived. Immediately, upon being handed my first ever yearbook in print, I opened it. I recall sitting at my desk, everyone immersed in a yearbook of their own, or of their friend’s. I flipped to our page. Our class. To the left, I read my own name, “Ava Paprocki,” beside my portrait. To the right, we were all pictured together; 18 young, smiling faces. Above this photo read the words “Class of 2020.”

Think back to elementary school. Your idea of a “class“ was simply the kids with whom you shared a teacher. You spent 180 days together in the same room. These were the kids you hung your backpack next to, who you walked in line behind, who you read your stories aloud in front of. In those years, your class was like your family; a group of 20 to 30 other kids who were, for the most part, just like you.

Beginning in middle school, and throughout high school, the term “class” has taken on an entirely new meaning to us. As the Class of 2020, we’re still a family, but much bigger one than we ever could have imagined in third grade. Now, we sit here, on the day we never thought would arrive; an amazingly pivotal moment in our lives. We’re all wearing red, but underneath the color that unites us in this moment, we have become incredibly unique individuals. Over the past four years, you, along with those around you, have developed into writers, chemists, athletes, nurses, engineers, artists, and so much more. Each and every one of you is a rarity.

Don’t lose track of who you are today: it could be one of the most extraordinary, most beautiful forms of yourself that you’ll ever meet. Stay true to that. The onset of adulthood is inevitable, but hold tightly to youth too.

As members of this generation, we’ve faced opposition. We’ve faced a global pandemic that … in a sense, has changed our lives forever. But we are strong, we are resilient, and we know how to adapt. We are overcoming the obstacles that we are faced with day by day. Now, a “class” is so much more than it was when we were 8. We are united, in this time, under the same societal issues, global dilemmas, and universal uncertainties.

For the past 12 years, school has caused us each to follow a relatively similar path. Now, as we make our own journeys into the future, we stray from this uniform path. We delve into our own goals and aspirations. Before we walk across this stage today, entering what they call a “new chapter” of our lives, let us remember who we are, acknowledge where we come from, and reflect on how we’ve grown. Yesterday, we were little kids … eating Eggos, watching Spongebob. Today, we’re still doing those things — I am, anyway— but we are also high school graduates, and the possibilities of tomorrow are infinite. We are ready for the journey. We’re up next.

We are the Class of 2020.