An Open Letter to My Fellow 2020 Graduates
Dear Class of 2020,
Slowly, surely, we have finished the race.
Well done, my friends. We made it. (I don’t know about you, but there were certainly days when I wasn’t quite sure I would.)
This year looks different than any of us ever could have expected.
Our grande finale looks more like a high five than a firework show.
We look up from our laptops, having clicked “send” on the very last assignment.
The end.
Quietly, unsuspectingly, we reach the end of our high school years. Without the parties and goodbyes and last hurrahs we hoped for.
For those of you who are disappointed: I see you. Your heartbreak is real and valid.
But here’s the thing: I don’t want to remember this as a season of disappointment.
The words of Christopher Robin from Winnie-the-Pooh keep coming to mind:
“Promise me you’ll always remember that you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
This strange year does not define who we are or who we will become. We are not victims. We are victors. The ones who pressed on in the face of fear, and continued forward in the light of love.
Perhaps we are here for such a time as this.
God saw fit for us to go into the world in the midst of great uncertainty— not as a punishment, but as a gift.
A gift of grace.
He will never give us more than we can handle with Him.
Braver than you believe.
Stronger than you seem.
Smarter than you think.
I will not pretend to know what the future holds for you, for me, for us. But I do know this: God has the most wondrous plan for each of our lives.
He never promises this path will be easy. But He does promise He’ll faithfully stay by our side.
He is in us and with us and will never leave us.
Hold fast to this truth, my darling friends.
His grace is abundant and His spirit, generous. His cup spills over with love.
Say it with me: we are brave, we are strong, we are smart.
We are His.
Cheers cheers cheers, class of 2020.
We did it.
May the best be yet to come.
xoxo,
Audrey