In May of 2022 when I was departing my Search retreat, I remember thinking as I packed my things up that I really wouldn’t mind just staying there. That morning, I felt like I could stay there in that very moment for the rest of my life and be wholly content. I couldn’t imagine after such an incredible experience, that I’d suddenly be forced back out into the “real” world. It didn’t matter what anyone said about Search highs and deeps—I would have none of it. Though I knew “the best was yet to come” and things to accomplish in life, I just didn’t think I could leave behind the amazing beauty that I had found in that weekend.
I’ve always been someone who has struggled with change, and that feeling that the time and the days are slipping away. I think that sense was the very same reason I was able to so easily fall in love with photography. It was always reassuring to know that I could capture or preserve those moments I was so scared to lose, and I can only hope that those moments and memories have brought you every bit as much joy as I know they’ve brought me.
Milestones and conclusions like these, especially in the setting of the out of the ordinary, all have one thing in common: they beg the question “So, what now?” The same sort of feeling you might get after Christmas, or at the end of a vacation: now that this experience, this joy is drawing to a close, how am I supposed to just go on with my life? How am I supposed to leave this place of authenticity and deep meaning, Gonzaga Preparatory School, and enter into society, surrounded by so many that just don’t seem to get it like we do?
This journey, and everything along the way, has made Gonzaga Prep our home. After four chaotic years, we have finally worked our way past where we could ever imagine we could be. Here, we have an identity. Here, we have each other. And now, the moment we feel we have it all, we have to leave it all behind and start over.
I’ve worried for a long time about leaving Prep. However, I’ve realized this isn’t the way to go about it. It wasn’t until recently that it hit me. It doesn’t matter how nice our new college campuses are, what the SAT range is, or what the tuition might be—I’m never truly going to have what I have here at Prep. I was never going to—but then again, I was never supposed to.
What’s so cool about going out and starting anew is that while you may have a blank slate in front of you, you carry with you everything you’ve learned and experienced over the years. All of those experiences, you now carry with you as the brushes and paints you get to use on the empty canvas before you. YOU get to decide, going out into the world, what are you going to do? Where are you going to go? Who are you going to surround yourself with? How are you going to live your life? And above all else: Who are you going to be?
So, as we prepare to depart into our futures this afternoon, ask yourself: what are you going to do with the things you’ve experienced at Prep? What will you take forward from this place and put into the so-called real world of everyday life? Beyond that, how are you going to use the things you’ve been through, the emotions you’ve felt, the wisdom you’ve gained, and the lives you’ve lived in your time here at Prep, and how will you best utilize those things to go out into the world and truly set it on fire?
I’ve been absolutely terrified of this day. As sad as I may be and as much as I may miss every single one of you already, I know, deep down, I’m excited. I’m excited to go out into the world, with the things that I’ve learned here at Prep, and do everything I can to make a better place wherever I land. I know that I’m ready to go out and learn more, feel more, create more, see more, and above all, love more, as I carry with me these times and experiences with you all along the way. I know, even if you don’t believe it now, that every single one of you can do the same.
I love you all so, so much, and I can’t wait until we see each other again.