By now, you’ve celebrated. You’ve partied with family and friends. You’ve bid your goodbyes to teachers. You’re received plenty of accolades. You’ve shaken hands, you’ve shared hugs, and you’ve been on the receiving end of much praise. Deservedly so. Congratulations
By now, you’ve celebrated.
You’ve partied with family and friends.
You’ve bid your goodbyes to teachers.
You’re received plenty of accolades. You’ve shaken hands, you’ve shared hugs, and you’ve been on the receiving end of much praise.
Deservedly so.
Congratulations to the graduates of Waimea, Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a high schools. More than 600 of you went through commencement exercises Friday and received diplomas.
Well done!
We’re not the first to say it, but we’ll say it again anyway — It’s a big deal. Staying the course for four years isn’t easily done. It shows fortitude, perseverance and yes, smarts. We’re proud to see so many of you excel in education. Don’t underestimate the significance of this moment.
You’re moving on. College could be in your future. A job. Travel. Stay home. Whatever you decide on, we’re sure you’ll shine.
Still, here’s a little advice, and some brief recommendations that you may find helpful.
• Goals. Set them, absolutely. Make a plan to reach them. Often, we set goals and figure we’ll reach them over time. It’s not enough to decide you want to do something or go someplace. You have to come up with a road map to get there.
• Believe. What might seem impossible is possible, but only if you believe it.
• Persevere. You will have trouble. You will fail. You will suffer setbacks. Don’t despair. Just keep plugging away, and the good days will outnumber the bad.
• Risks. Take them. Sure, they won’t always work out as hoped. But you know what they say. Better to have tried and failed, than never to have tried at all. It’s true. Risk sets us on the edge. The edge, sometimes, is where we want to be. We can turn back, or we can push ahead. If we never fail, that means we never put ourselves out there.
• Doubters. Don’t listen to them. There will always be people who will point out the drawbacks, the negatives, the downside. There are people who will discourage, rather than encourage. Don’t hang out with these people.
• Regrets. We all have regrets. But you want regrets to be for something you did, rather than something you didn’t do. Don’t look back and say, “I wish I had …”
Well, that’s enough advice. Grads, you’ve proven yourselves. We encourage you to continue to test yourselves. Put yourselves on the line, push boundaries, go beyond any self-imposed limits. Mostly, just have faith and believe.
You might be surprised at what you can do.
We won’t.
