REGIONAL

What began as a high school career over Zoom in 2020 ended with a sunny evening on the main field at Valley Regional High School (VRHS) as its Class of 2024 graduated with open minds and hearts for those they know and yet to know.

The first of the graduates to speak was Class Essayist Mikaela Carlin. She used the Western animated film Rango as an allegory for what the future holds for her and her graduates.

“For the first five or so minutes of the film, the protagonist, a chameleon named Rango, is stuck in captivity in a small terrarium accompanying his owners on a road trip. In this one scene, he fogs up the glass of his terrarium with a breath and draws a box in the condensation with his fingers,” Carlin said. “In an incredible demonstration of a fourth-wall break, he stares at the viewer and questions aloud: 'Who am I? I could be anyone.' He is then flung from the bounds of his terrarium and thrown into an unfamiliar, dry, desert landscape, all alone.”

Amidst periods of “mountainous stress, failures, and existential crises” and feelings of being “stranded in some metaphorical, lonely desert,” Carlin congratulated her classmates “for their endurance and hard work.”

Carlin continued by saying that in the next chapter of their lives, the Class of 2024 graduates will continue to face new and unfamiliar faces, situations, and challenges, which will mold them into people who will be different than who they were when they left VRHS. However, this is not to be feared, said Carlin, as she again quoted from Rango, referencing the titular character’s mentor, the Spirit of the West.

“‘No man can walk out of his own story,’” she quoted.

“Like Rango, let us go forth with open minds and ready hearts, willing to lead and help others,” said Carlin. “Most importantly, let us allow for fluctuations in our identities and to look for inspiration in our circumstances so that we may thrive and find ourselves.”

Next to speak was Salutatorian Ella Brenneman. She opened her speech by reflecting on “all the great times leading up to this moment” of high school graduation, much of which was hitting Brenneman and her fellow graduates all at once in the days leading up to the culmination of their experiences at VRHS.

“These last few days, I’ve had an evolving montage in my mind of seemingly everyday moments that now have a rose-colored tint. And it's the people who I've shared these experiences with that have made the memories so sparkly,” said Brenneman.

Although “school is not always a blast,” continued Brenneman, “it is the friends and peers we have worked alongside for four years that have made it so fun.”

“Even within the mundane, friends bring the excitement,” said Brenneman, noting how that often happens even while studying for exams or writing difficult assignments because “laughter took precedence over an equation or essay.”

Brenneman expressed gratitude toward her teachers since kindergarten, crediting them as inspiring figures to her as someone pursuing a career in teaching.

“I can only hope to one day be as impactful as this group of teachers has been to all of us, and I know, today especially, we are all so grateful for our favorite teachers,” she said.

Brenneman said that her high school career at VRHS, as a third-generation graduate, “is a testament to the enduring tight-knit community here” that “supports its people and will always be here for us to return to, whether for a visit here and there or to build our lives.”

She concluded by saying that “the best parts of life are those spent connecting with others.”

“My rose-colored memory montage truly wouldn’t be so rosy without my community, so let's carry that sentiment into our futures,” said Brennanman. “Be sure to expand your circles with new, caring, and kind people wherever you may go and make some legendary new memories just as we have here.”

The last person to speak was Valedictorian Elliot Stack, whose speech encouraged his fellow graduates to embrace the unknown that lies ahead of them rather than seek out the exact directions after high school.

“It is human nature to want to understand,” Stack said. “Humans inevitably want to learn: what, when, where, why, and how? We hate what we don’t know, but we should not let this discourage us from coming to peace with the fact that we still have so much to learn. Many of you have no idea where I’ll be or where I’ll go.”

“But why do we wish to know it all?” Stack continued. “If you knew how your life turned out, would you still choose to live it? That is the true meaning of life: to find out. That is my explanation.”

Stack told his graduates that they are “the element of the unknown, and we simply can’t be predicted,” calling this something of which they should be proud rather than something about which to feel down.

Stack concluded by congratulating his classmates on their accomplishments, encouraging them to feel proud about their successes.

“I want you to realize that every single one of you has succeeded on your own in some way, shape, or form, and all of you are too magnificent and humble to admit that you have,” said Stack.

“We have all won collectively just by being here today. Congratulations. The diplomas you receive will be your trophies,” he continued. “Remember, despite how cruel the world may be, however magically cruel it may be, it is real, and we are real, and we must ignore those who tell us it isn’t ours to make.”