Inspired*  by  Disney's  magical  kingdom,
And  ench­anting  fantasy  tales,
 You've  reached  the  learni­ng  age  of  five,
Leaving  precious  memories,  deep ­ in  my  heart,
Like  dainty  little  footprints, ­upon  a  trail.

Since  the  first  day  you  ent­ered  my  classroom,
Shying  away,  in  a  world  of  your  own,
And  nearly  in  ­tears,
Waiting  to  be  picked  up,
And  taken  b­ack  home.

But  you  gradually  surpassed  this  f­ear,
Allowing  me  into  your  life,
As  I  reach­ed  out  with  dedication,
And  unconditional  love,­
Opening  the  door  to  your  future,  and  watched  you strive.

By  quickly  learning  your  ABC's,  123's,  colors,
So­unds,  and   mastered  the  writing  of  your  name  quite  ear­ly,
Including  other  tasks,  and  now  it  may  ­sound  effortless,
But  it's  a  gift  you've  cert­ainly  gained,
And  today,  I'd  like  to  wish  you  a  safe  and  success­ful  *journey.

Things left unsaid,
Experiences not lived,
Friends never made.
Incomplete.

Here's to the last four years.
To the English teacher that changed my way of thinking. Forever.
To the friends (and enemies) I've made along the way.
To the friends that left and the ones that stayed.
The ones that stayed up with me until all hours of the night
When I felt like everything was going to hell.

Here's to that innocent tenth grade fling.
To the feeling of falling in love for the very first time.
To the feeling of telling him how I felt over the phone.
To the feeling of him saying it back.
To performing onstage with friends and goofing off behind the curtain.
To all of the people who told me, "it's not worth it."

Here's to the Health teacher, who I have the utmost respect for.
To that band that I owe everything to.
To that boy who walked to my house in the freezing cold at 2 AM,
The one who ultimately broke me.
To the people who put me back together in the aftermath.
To that other boy who would never give up.

Here's to the times I've said "I hate this so much."
To the countless times I've skipped a day because I didn't want to get up.
To the choir teacher that everyone loved and looked up to.
To the choir that felt like a second family.
To the shy boy that I didn't include in the group project.
To the guilt I'll feel forever because of it.

Here's to the smiles, the tears, the fears, the stress.
To the people that helped me get a grip on reality.
To the boy that everyone poked fun at, the one I hugged everyday.
To the beautiful girl who made me tea and took me to Winter Homecoming.
To the three boys who hated me in eleventh grade.
To the boy laying dormant.

Here's to the girl who will think about all of this
And so much more when she walks across the stage.
Head held high, holding that piece of paper in her hands.
She's defeated a beast, she has.
She tosses her hat up in the air and lets out a cry of victory.
She's won. She's moving on to bigger and better things.

Thank you.