The last four years have been wild, eventful, and unforgettable, to say the least.

Each year has been a different challenge for all 950 graduates in the Class of 2020. We have all come such a long way. Adjusting from 8th grade to high school at first was not easy. It was new turf that we all had to learn to navigate.

Spending four years putting in hard work, doing all these projects, trying to type an essay before midnight, studying for all these finals, and just trying to make the most of high school. 

The school has had its ups, downs, and just messy situations. We’ve become a little closer with nature during our time at Perry; we have survived invasions of grasshoppers, bats, and C-lunch crowds that would make Times Square jealous.

We’e seen triumphs in sports, fine arts, graphic design, culinary arts, journalism, debate, and so much more; and we have survived tragedy in loss of students and staff members, a fake controversy with MAGA attire, and a new system of messed up bells that the school (through three quarters of this year) couldn’t quite figure out.

At the moment things have been chaotic, with COVID-19 derailing our final quarter of high school — it feels as though we have been robbed of memories. The memorable moments that will be missed like the last assembly, prom, senior ditch day, senior spirit week, the senior victory lap and graduation. These moments wanted to be shared with friends and peers. This is not exactly how we imagined our senior year to end, but we will be stronger because of it. 

This is all hard to accept but it does not mean we should not cherish the memories we have already made. Without high school some of us would not have formed strong friendships, relationships, and memories that marked the beginning of something special. 

We may have learned that we have special talents for things like that CTE class you were accidentally placed into and now, you are going to major in that field.

I hope you all were able to grow as a person and a student. Learning from the mistakes made in high school so they are not made down the road. Many have had to deal with tougher hardships than others and have endured the loss of fellow classmates.

Although, you did not get a chance to say proper goodbyes to friends, classmates, and teachers or take pictures in front of the brick wall one last time. Celebrate! You have survived what they call high school. 

So when you go to pick up your diploma be positive not negative. Just remember that there is so much more ahead for all of you. Seniors, there is so much more to be fulfilled. The best is yet to come.