Remember moments

For my son and his fellow classmates as they prepare for graduation:

Remember moments, not days.

Moments are the who and the what and the why and the when. They’re fragments of time - of life - that you gather in your memory and hold deep in your heart.

As you graduate high school, this is one of those moments.

As humans, we spend time wishing it away.

We can’t wait to grow up.

We can’t wait to get that driver’s license.

We can’t wait to graduate.

We can’t wait to travel.

We can’t wait to get that first job, that first house, get married or be a parent or to retire.

We. Can’t. Wait.

Because when we’re young, it seems as if all we do is wait. An endless loop of waiting and wondering and wasting and wishing.

Don’t wish time away.

Live for the moments. Live IN the moments.

You are all students of Maryville High School, but each of you attended a different school. Because school is different for everyone. Some of you had an amazing time. Classes were easy for you. You excelled in sports or music. You may have been a teacher’s pet or had tons of friends.

For some, it was a struggle. Classes were hard. You didn’t fit in. You were bullied or scared or shamed.

And some of you were in the middle. Some days were good. Some days, not.

Regardless of how you got here, every single one of you has won. You made it. You are worthy of celebration, of love, of respect.

That’s why it’s important to remember the moments, not the days.

Remember what inspires you.

Your family. Your faith. Your friends.

Your teachers. Your coaches. Your teammates.

Your dreams. Your fears. Your wins. Your losses.

They are the sum of everything YOU are. Everything YOU can be. Everything you WANT to be.

So do all thing things.

Be all the things.

See all the things.

Dream ALL the things.

Be a fighter.

Be a helper.

Be the type of friend you always wished you had.

Be kind.

Let the pulse of the world resonant within you. Billions of beating hearts, each with a purpose. YOU are a part of that. YOU are special, and YOU have something to share.

Remember that.

Remember the moments.

Remember that time isn’t something to be wished away.

Live for the moments. Live IN the moments. Just like this one.