Dear former students:
First of all, congratulations on your accomplishment! You've graduated from elementary school, and are now entering the world of middle school. You've reached the end of the beginning; you're moving forward.
Here, many things will be different. You'll actually have a say in the classes you take. You'll be beyond all the structures and little rules elementary school imposed on you. You'll make new friends, you'll be able to explore your God-given talents, and so much more. Your whole life is ahead of you. You've only gotten through 6 years of elementary education. You'll be in middle school for 3 years (ideally), then you're off to high school for 4 years (ideally), and then you can learn what you want to learn in college. After college, the real world awaits.
At your age, entering into middle school, typically your #1 concern is "What will people think or say about me if I do or say this?" Here's a little secret, though: All students think the exact. same. thing. They're all concerned about how others will perceive them. If you can be 100% happy, secure, and comfortable with who you are, what you like to do, and everything that makes you YOU, then you have NOTHING to worry about. After all the times that your former teachers have talked to you about peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, smoking, and so many other things you'll face inevitably earlier than you should, I just wonder how you'll respond when finally faced with these challenges? What kind of person will you be in middle school?
Will you be the one judging others based on how they dress or make friends with as many different people as possible no matter how they look or where they come from?
Will you be among those starting rumors to ruin someone's image, or will you risk your image to save someone else's?
Will you abandon everything you like about yourself just to fit in with a clique, or be friends with those who love you as you are?
Will you watch and cheer as students beat each other senseless, or will you find the help to try to break up the fight?
Will you join in on the bullying of another student so you don't fall victim to the same bullying, or will you have the courage to defend the defenseless?
When all your friends are encouraging you to try a harmful substance (like marijuana, cigarettes, beer, etc.), will you give in to peer pressure to be "cool", or will you remember what we told you and "just say 'no'" and walk away?
Will you refrain from joining an extra curricular activity you like because your friends say it's uncool, or will you do it anyway because YOU like it?
Will you find a scapegoat to take the blame for your mistakes, or will you be a responsible young adult and accept the consequences of your mistakes?
Will you forget about doing well in your classes so you can maintain the image of a partygirl/boy, or are you okay and proud of being both smart and fun?
As you were told in school every morning, "the choice is always yours." As I told you when you were in my class: Love yourself and be the best you that you can be, because no one else can be a better you than you.
When it comes to choosing friends, especially new ones, remember the words of Dr. Seuss: "Do what you like and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
If you're ever bullied, remember the words of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
And if you're ever lost inside and don't know who you are, and pray to God asking him to tell you, then think of these words: "Don't ask God to tell you who you are; ask God to help you accept whoever he wants you to be."
I wish you only the best on your journey. As many cliché quotes that I can give you as advice for your long road ahead, the most important one to remember is what Jesus himself said: "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you." It's the Golden Rule. If you treat people the way you want to be treated, and they treat you worse, then that's the first indication that you don't need to invest any more time in building a friendship with them.
Be brave, be good, and most of all, be yourself.
I'll miss you.
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