Salutatorian Address
Melissa Yore

[Please Read the CAVEAT]

Good evening family, friends, faculty, invited guests and the Class of 1998. Let's visit the future for a few minutes. Welcome to the adventures of life beyond graduation.

It is a crisp night and the twenty-fifth reunion of the Woburn High School class of 1998 is just beginning. I am bombarded with nostalgic feelings and high school flashbacks. The last time I can remember my whole class gathered together like this was the night of the senior prom. As I look into the eyes of my classmates, everyone has visibly aged, but I still see the young people who filled my youth with so many memories. I see many of the people whose humor made long classes a little more bearable. I see people I wish I'd gotten to know a little better in high school. I see the friends who always supported me.

As everyone is greeting each other excitedly, I think about our life at Woburn High School. It seemed like only yesterday we were going to proms, sitting through assemblies, and acting like carefree teenagers. I silently wish I could return to those days. High school seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun! As more and more people enter the room, I see teachers, lawyers, business executives, Construction workers, many parents and most importantly, the first woman President. I am proud to see how successful my class has become. I begin to realize how much we have all changed since our graduation many years ago. We have all chosen different paths in the journey of life.

Each of our paths begins today. Today, June 9, 1998 is truly the first day of the rest of our lives. This evening, we begin life with a clean slate. Our identities are evolving as I speak. Life as we know it is changing dramatically. We are no longer the "kids" the world has always seen us as. We are about to become the adults of the world. As you begin to choose your path in life, keep in mind the words of Muriel Strode," Do not follow where the path will lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Be your own person and find the road to sheer happiness. Life is not "all about the Benjamins." It is about enjoying yourself and being happy with the life you chose. George Burns once said, "I'd rather be failing at something I enjoy than be a success at something I hate." Keep those words in mind as you decide what you want to do for the rest of your life. There will be many bumps along the way to discovering who we are to become. Life will be continuously changing and throwing curves at us. The choices we make will essentially determine the future.

Brenda Ueland once said, "The true self is always in motion like music, a river of life, changing, moving, failing, suffering, learning, shining." We will all see moments of failure and success in the years along the journey between who we once were and who we are now becoming. As we sit here in the same stadium where we have watched football games and endured gym classes, we have to ask ourselves one question, "How did I get to where I am today?" Surely, others aided each and every one of us to help us reach graduation. We need to thank our teachers for making us learn even when we begged to have a study. These teachers have filled us with knowledge that will actually be useful later in life. So many teachers have pushed us to our potential, causing many of us to realize our dreams.

Our parents and families have also played a vital role in molding us into who we are today. The family is the first influence on a child's success and often ensures that students strive for future success. Finally, our friends have shaped our personalities, helped us realize our likes and dislikes and influenced our perspectives on the world. Friends are here to create a balance in our lives and to make it more interesting. These people have all had a profound influence on our lives and should be thanked for this.

I would like to share with you the words of "The Desiderata," which Mr. Sweeney recently narrated as the concert choir sang behind him. "The Desiderata" is a work which was found in the basement of a church hundreds of years ago, yet the words still hold true today. I found the message to be powerful and particularly appropriate for today and for life in general.

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak the truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others; you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements - as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to the virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you - no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusions of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a perfect world."

I would like to leave a last thought with the Class of 1998. Remember that nothing is impossible. Find a dream and then find a way to make it come true. Richard Bach once said, "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true."

Finally, I leave you with the words of Dr. Seuss in his book, Oh the Places You'll Go. "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose."

Thank you and good luck to everyone.