I graduated high school in June 1994. And on that June day, I sat on stage for the duration of the ceremony as one of the speakers representing our graduating class. 

My speech was titled, “The Lessons We Carry With Us.”

I don’t remember everything I spoke about, and I haven’t been able to find a copy of my speech. But I think I probably spoke about traits and skills we practiced in high school. Traits and skills that would serve us well throughout our lives; traits such as patience, perseverance, and resilience. 

Today, June 10th, 2026, our son graduates from high school.

It’s a day of reflection and for feeling all the feelings. A chance to look back and acknowledge our son’s evolution during his high school years. He started high school as a teenager. He’s finishing high school as an adult.

And today, amidst the celebration and the smiles and the tears, I’m thinking about the lessons our son has learned throughout his four years of high school.

These are the lessons I hope our son always carries with him:

1. Trust yourself. Teachers encouraged you to take additional Advanced Placement courses, but you knew what you needed. You knew what you could handle. You knew the type of high school experience you wanted. (Two AP classes were enough for you.) Continue to pay attention to that inner voice that is so strong.

2. Stay open. We’ve seen you say yes to new experiences, new foods, new clubs, new ways of doing things. Maintain that curious spirit. Continue to be willing to venture out of your comfort zone.

3. Don’t wait for others. Some of your most monumental high school experiences, you did without your closest friends at your side. You went ahead and signed up for the field trips and the spring break trip because you really wanted to go on them. And you weren’t going to sit them out just because your best friends didn’t want to go.

4. Passion matters. Think about the classes you enjoyed the most. The classes you truly cared about and worked the hardest. Those were the classes you felt passionately about. Sometimes you have to go through the motions. But whenever possible, follow your passion.

5. Celebrate your own sense of style. It has been a joy to sit back and see you develop your own sense of style. A baseball cap. A scarf. Bracelets. A necklace. Whatever you wore, you felt confident in your own skin. Confidence, and the conviction not to want to look like everyone else, never goes out of style. 

Congratulations, Ryan!! We are so very proud of you!!!