Along with the new responsibilities and the feelings of uneasiness come many questions. Some of the questions you ask yourself will be answered quickly and easily. Some will take more thought. Others you may not be able to find an answer to. As time passes there will be many questions you will have trouble answering, do not give up. Not having an answer immediately should make you only work harder. And make you feel more determined to find that answer.

Giving up on anything or anyone should never be an option. Being a quitter is another name for giving up on oneself. Belief in oneself is the greatest asset one can possess. Always face challenges head on. Never go around them or below them. Go directly through each and every one of them. If you happen to fall down on your first try, Get right back up, Giving up is never an option.

Not giving up does not only apply to how you deal with yourself, it also applies to how you deal with other people. Most of us here have gotten in an argument. with a loved one or friend, and more often than not things are able to be worked out simply and quickly. Unfortunately there are times when acts are so disturbing, we are unable to forgive, sometimes for years other times forever. Relationships are not always fair, but then again neither are humans. Things are not always explainable or understandable but then again neither is life.

Dreams do not always go as planned but then again what does. Life is, no question, an uphill battle. It takes hard work to make it. It takes desire and it takes time but there always is a light at the end of the tunnel. Determination finds the end of the tunnel, hard work gets you up that hill, and desire is realizing that giving up is never an option.

Many of us have grown up for years and years together. Some of us have always gone to school together, some played on the same youth athletic teams and others would just see each other around town. We have been connected through organizations, family, and mutual friends our entire life. Next year we will no longer have these privileges. We will be out on our own in what we call the real world. We will have to meet friends on our own and get involved in social and organized activities on our own. Some of it will come easy but most of it will be difficult.

Always become involved and never stop trying to meet people. Take what you've learned at Woburn High School and use it as tools in the future. Always work hard for your goals and never be afraid of taking a chance to get to the next level. If you never take a chance you'll never have a chance. And in the future if you come across something you don't like, disagree with, or find degrading be woman enough or man enough to try to change it. Remember silence is acceptance. But taking chances is not just about changing things. It is also about making things happen and making your dreams become reality.

This past Friday, President Clinton addressed the graduates of MIT. He told them, "Choices are made by action or inaction." In saying this Clinton urges us that it is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Today as we stand as one for the last time, I ask of you only three things: To never give up on something you believe in, never be afraid of taking a chance, and finally I ask you to never part with your memories because they truly define our existence.

Thanks for the memories ninety-eight. Goodbye and God bless.