When the ceremony was over and all the pictures were taken, we went to the Catfish House to celebrate. After the 12 of us had placed our order (there were the five of us, mom, the Jones family, and Mrs. Donna Henry who helps mom some) and we were ready to say the blessing, I took the time to tell Jenna just how proud she has made her mom and I. I can’t remember everything I said last night but I was thinking back to the time we met with the guidance counselor four years ago to map out Jenna’s high school courses. Jenna chose the hard road. She accepted the challenge of every top level class East Robertson had to offer. She has figuratively poured in the blood, sweat, and tears and come out on top. I knew she had it in her, but seeing her tackle this path through high school has left me amazed. She has done all that while never compromising on her beliefs and having a vibrant, thriving high school experience. I am looking forward to what she does next.
Jenna graduated with many honors and therefore had a lot of different things hanging around her neck. Since I am the proud papa I’m going to describe those here.
• Jenna wore a white cap and gown to represent that she was in the top 10 of her class (everyone else wore maroon).
• The medallion she wore signified that she is a Tennessee Scholar. To earn this you have to maintain a C average, have at least 95% attendance throughout the high school career with no out of school suspensions, and perform 80 hours of volunteer service.
• She wore several cords representing that she graduated with honors, distinction, and state honors for her GPA, ACT score, and dual enrollment college credit.
• Jenna also wore the Beta Club stole.
Jenna was also awarded the Jr. Beta Club scholarship and the Covington Scholarship (for her biographical essay about Mrs. Connie) last night. Her first year of college should be pretty much paid for!
Since I’m unabashedly singing my daughter’s praises (Isn’t that my job, especially now?) I’m going to sign off and include a copy of Jenna’s valedictory address below. Go get ‘em, girl. Your daddy is proud of you!
Joe
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Family, friends, and fellow graduates, it is such an honor to speak to you all today. This is my last official high school assignment, and I must say, I am glad I’m not being graded for it. First of all, I would like to say thank you to all those who have helped us along the way, and of course, to the many teachers and faculty who have positively impacted our lives to bring us to this very day. When considering what I could possibly say, I knew I wanted to give my class of 2016 an encouraging word about our future, but I also wanted to reflect on the last thirteen years we have spent together.
With the help of the school yearbooks, I went back to our kindergarten year in 2003. Little did we know at the time that walking into school on the first day would start such an adventure. Prepared with my twenty pocket, flower power backpack, I walked in feeling on top of the world. I remember being so excited to finally start school! It didn’t take long to realize though that we would have to go EVERY single day for the next thirteen years of our lives! In a five-year-old’s mind, this seemed like forever and would be our greatest challenge ever to face. I realize now, we had many more to come. Yet, here we are. Forty-six of us have been together since kindergarten. Of course, we’ve lost a few and we’ve gained a few, but at the heart we’re still the same. From the memories we share competing in tug-of-war or looking around the cafeteria to see who popped the sandwich bag to transitioning to our newfound freedom of 6th grade (and lockers!) or the excitement of high school basketball and football games, I will cherish these moments forever! Throughout the years, we have played together, been in trouble together, learned together, and grown together, but now we take our next step separately. It’s the unknown, but we have been thoroughly prepared. Now I may not be taking my flower power backpack with me for the next part of my journey, but I will take the legacy we have shared here at East.
I pray for each of you as you start college, begin new jobs, or wherever else your life may take you. I want to encourage you to place your trust in God because He will be your source of hope and direction for your future. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Lastly, I want to leave you with one final thought from the book Tuesdays with Morrie. I read this quote a few weeks ago, and it made me reflect on my own life and the choices I make. I thought it was fitting for today as I challenge the Class of 2016 to live a meaningful life:
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.I wish you the best of luck Class of 2016. Congratulations and God Bless!
