Arthur Davis
Brattleboro Union High School
We have just reached a milestone in life and have grand ideas about what life will be like from now on.
Unfortunately, these ideas don't always pan out the way they do in our minds; our realities might not match the life we dream about.
The truth is that we really cannot know exactly where we're going and what will happen next. But if there is one thing we can all do as we journey forward, it is to step into life with curiosity, wonder, and passion.
In one particular Calvin and Hobbes cartoon by Bill Watterson, my favorite cartoon character, Calvin, provides a great example of this attitude toward life.
Calvin and Hobbes are out exploring and Calvin stops and says to Hobbes, “Look! A trickle of water running through some dirt. I'd say our afternoon just got booked solid!”
Although we don't know the results of Calvin and Hobbes explorations that day, it is apparent that they are going with gusto, that they are being led by their curiosity, their wonder, and their passion for the world around them.
In the complicated world we live in today, with technology all around us connecting us to all corners of the earth, it is easy to forget about the joy and satisfaction that is gained from engagement with the world around you.
I would bet that Calvin sure felt happy and satisfied, if not a little dirty, after exploring that stream. So, perhaps if we remember back to our childhoods, we can see ourselves at a time in our lives when we followed our curiosity, wonder, and passion all the time.
The great environmentalist Rachel Carson once wrote, “A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.”
What would happen though if we defied this trend? Imagine the power of young people, curious about the world, in wonder of its beautiful intricacies, and passionate to learn about them.
I'm sure that our parents have memories of us, as toddlers, curious and amazed at the new and exciting world around us, and passionate to learn more however we could. So why not journey now toward the future with this same attitude?
Whether we are experts at geometry proofs, or chemistry, or the definitions of Wordly Wise list number 17, everyone here has curiosities that create wonder, which in turn create a passion for learning.
So, as we venture off into this new world ahead of us, take a moment to look around. Take a moment to notice the intricacies of the leaves on the trees or the grandeur of a mountain as the sun is setting. Take a moment to explore the world we live in, and make life a rich and fulfilling time.
Let's venture forward from high school the way that Calvin and Hobbes left the world in their final adventure, when they woke up to a morning with a fresh snow on the ground.
Hobbes comments, “Everything familiar has disappeared! The world looks brand-new.” And as they whiz off down the snowy hill toward an unknown adventure, Calvin responds, “It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy...let's go exploring.”
So, to the class of 2011, let's take our curiosities, wonders, and passions and continue to learn from and engage with the world around us, because it is indeed a magical world.
Arthur Davis was valedictorian of the BUHS class of 2011. This fall, he will travel from Corsica to England for two months or so to sing folk music from different world traditions. He will start at Oberlin College in Ohio next fall.
Taylor Patno
Brattleboro Union High School
The dictionary says that a home-boy is: 1. A person from the same locality as oneself. 2. (Slang) A close friend or fellow gang member.
Since I am not part of a gang, it must be more equivalent to a close friend in this instance.
Well, then, it's official: according to the dictionary, each and every one of you is my home-boy, my peep, and my home-skillet. And you know, that's not all that bad. I think that's what high school is all about, creating groups of friends, or peeps, which will be with you for the rest of your life.
These are friends who will be there for you whenever you need them. It begins in preschool and kindergarten: We become friends because all of us are learning and experiencing new things together. That's the key word; together.
Look at the people around you: Would you be friends with those people if it wasn't for BUHS? Most of them, probably not.
That's the power of high school, and that's the power of our friendships. It's also that power that will send all of us into the vast world.
Now, we can all agree that these past four years have been pretty interesting and certainly out of the ordinary. BUHS is pretty out of the ordinary.
We seniors all have memories of BUHS that we will never forget: fire drills, house meetings, lunch privileges, Collins Writing Program, Wordly Wise, assemblies, activity days, spirit week, pep rallies, fall and spring plays, the winter musicals, football games, basketball games, baseball games, softball games, lacrosse games, hockey games, soccer games, field hockey games, track meets, cross-country meets, tennis matches, and Brattleboro Intramural Ultimate Frisbee League.
Also, taking the various standardized tests that are required throughout our years; the NECAPs, SATs, PSATs, ACTs, ABCs, and the SAT-ACT-PSAT-PLAN-NECAP-ABC-XYZ-LOL-TGIF-OMG exam.
The fact is, we've struggled through these last four years that only true friends can ever share.
Remember those shy 14-year-olds timidly walking into Brattleboro Union High School in the fall of 2007? They have no idea who anyone is or where to go. They're alone, scared, nervous, and anxious, and in that single moment they have no idea how to accomplish the next four years of high school.
I'm sure that describes every single graduating senior. It certainly was true for me.
But soon, those worries about not getting through high school quickly vanished into what became, so far, the best four years of our lives. And it was all because of you. Every single one of you.
We trusted each other, we shared with each other, and we've created memories with each other. These are memories that our families, our teachers, our administration, and even other friends may never understand. We are all a family, and we always will be.
Right now, close your eyes and picture the people who you call your best friends in the whole wide world: the people you tell everything to, share secrets with, tell stories to, the people you spend every possible moment with.
They are the ones that you have shared your last four years with, who will get you through these next two, three, four years out of high school. The memories of those friends will get you through the rest of your lives. It will be those friends and those memories that will drive each one of you toward success and happiness.
Remember what Winnie the Pooh said to Christopher Robin: “If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever.”
This is not the end; this is only the beginning of a life full of joy, success, and laughter for all of us with each one of us by our sides.
We did it, we did it together, and in the end, no matter what, you are all my lifelong home-skillets. Thank you.
Taylor Patno, the BUHS class speaker, is heading to Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City to study musical theater.
Graham Brooks and Lauren Scott
Leland and Gray Union High School
We should be amazingly proud of ourselves. We have just completed our high school at what many a great human has said to be the greatest academic institution the world has ever known. From the sweeping foothills of the Himalayas to the crashing waves of California's rocky coast, a greater institute of groundbreaking research has yet to be discovered.
However, Leland and Gray's real significance does not lie in its NASA-like laboratories or its vaulted book depositories that carry many rare, leather-bound volumes. It is not that the glorious bay windows provided for perfect light while we perfected our painting that give this school what the French call “a certain I don't know what.”
It is the family.
The family of friends, teachers, and employees make this place truly unique and wonderful to be a part of.
I ran into some associates from a neighboring school the other day and they said, “Hey, G, how is Leland and Gray?”
I responded that it was superb and I was already starting to feel sad in anticipation of my departure from its hexagonal halls. They said, “Man, we can't wait to get out of [our neighboring school].”
I looked them in the eyes and said, “That's not how we do it here, homes - we a family.”
The school has changed in many ways over the six years we have been here. New buildings have sprung up, staff has changed, courses have changed, and new waves of students have come every year bringing their own special something to our beloved school.
But one thing has stayed the same throughout our years here.
Leland and Gray maintains an element of individuality, kindness, and love that truly sticks with everyone who spends time here.
This element is hard to describe with just a few adjectives. It might be better exemplified by the encouragement students receive from teachers in every endeavor they partake in.
It may have to do with the fact that in the middle of winter, we go on snowshoeing adventures in phys. ed. and have special days to celebrate the host of different cultures within our school.
The special qualities this school holds may even be personified by Mr. Paytas pulling sweet melodies out of the air with his Delta-style harp skills. We should all recognize the fact that Leland and Gray is an exceptionally special place by any standard and that we were extremely lucky to spend our high school careers here.
Next September may be the start of college for some or the start of work for others.
Either way each and every one of us will make a profound impact in our communities whether we are trying to or not. Each and every one of us will carry responsibility of a greater weight than we did through high school.
This change is daunting; however, the encouragement and love that we have received from this school will play a significant part in how we deal with this new burden of responsibility. I don't think we could be any better equipped. So thank you, Leland and Gray! It has been an amazing experience.
We realized that graduation speeches usually contain some words of wisdom and a few dollops of good advice. However, we are still innocent in the ways of the world, so unless you need advice from Lauren on how to string a ukulele or the few pointers from me on how to fight piles of parking tickets from Harmony Parking Lot in Brattleboro, I don't think we would be much help.
So we have chosen a few appropriate quotes from some people who seem to know what is going on.
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” -John Lennon.
“A 'no' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”-Mohandas Gandhi.
“Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”-Buddha.
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”-Martin Luther King Jr.
“A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.”-William Shakespeare.
And, last but not least, the wonderful Rebecca Black summed up our emotions today when she once sang, “Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday/Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin')/We-we-we so excited/We so excited/We gonna have a ball today.”
Thank you so much, class of 2011!
Graham Brooks is embarking on a year of playing music, while Lauren Scott will work in Paris for a year.
Margaret Bennett
Bellows Falls Union High School
High school is the point in our lives when we begin to discover who we are, and what we will become, no matter how crazy. So, after spending almost 22 hours straight on a road trip to Florida, I sat in a tent with Becky O'Neill mesmerized by a wasp.
Severely sleep deprived, I made the comment, “Sometimes, I just wish I were a wasp.”
Despite the comical nature of this statement, there exists a seriousness attached to it. For those of you who don't know much about wasps, there are two types that mirror the two types of people: social and solitary. However, each type diligently works on a single layer of its nest until reaching the edge before moving on to the next.
Perhaps you are the social type, building the first “toddler” layer of the nest, which you continually add to until the edge of knowledge is reached, and it's time to start school. With this layer, the first eggs of friendship will be laid as you begin a second “school” layer.
By this time the friendship eggs have hatched, the new wasps aid the construction of the layers to follow. As time passes, more and more friendship eggs hatch, and pretty soon the layers are built rapidly with new experiences and curiosities.
However, perhaps you are the solitary wasp, carefully constructing every layer of your nest by yourself, extending your boundaries where you please, not where others guide you.
Today marks the end of a layer that we have been building for the past four years: a layer shaped in classrooms, on the sports fields, under lights in the auditorium, or simply by the many opportunities Bellows Falls has provided us.
We have now successfully constructed, molded, and put in the finishing touches on this layer, barely squeezing through the confined space that our bodies have outgrown.
Tomorrow, we will begin a new layer: one formed by the new challenges life presents. In the end, a nest has been made of life's many experiences.
Margaret Bennett, a BFUHS honors student, will study nursing at Simmons College.
Rebecca O'Neill
Bellows Falls Union High School
During the fall of my eighth-grade year, I was searching for a new school where I could envision myself spending the next four years of my life.
On a whim, or maybe out of pure rebellious spirit, considering I had just had an argument with my parents, I declared that I wanted to visit Bellows Falls, the one school that I had never been in, knew no one, and had only heard of bomb threats and NECAP scores.
The day for the visit came, and I was beyond nervous. When I arrived here, I was put at ease.
As I passed through the day, I became aware of the care and personal attention that each student received. The teachers knew the students' names, unlike other schools where I felt like just another number.
And not only did the students at Bellows Falls have an identity, but the teachers also really cared. They knew the families of the students, came to see their sports games, and supported them across the curriculum.
The clincher was sitting in on Latin I with Ms. Huntoon. Never before had I witnessed a teacher so passionate about her subject, a class that she taught every year for over three decades.
I realized that the stereotypes against Bellows Falls were perpetuated unfairly. Its small size and caring staff proved to be a dedicated and educationally nurturing community that I could find no where else.
Upon entering Bellows Falls as a freshman, maybe I was just slow to understand, or maybe my cognitive functions had not developed sufficiently, but I entered the high school thinking about information as something to hear, discuss, and recite, perhaps to be analyzed.
But I did not know how to make connections across the curriculum or even question the authenticity of reports and identify biased information.
The staff members at Bellows Falls devote their time to helping students understand material; through early mornings, late afternoons, and relentless questions, they have imparted to me a love of information and history and an unquenchable desire to struggle through misconceptions to the point of comprehension, or at least attempted comprehension.
I can never thank my teachers sufficiently for the overwhelming patience and dedication to their subject and their students. The staff here is a rare commodity of caring individuals.
Truthfully, since my first year at Bellows Falls, I have welcomed the school's twisting labyrinth as a means to uncover knowledge and a confidence I didn't know I had. Throughout four years, students must learn to navigate their way not just through the partitions, but through the educational process, and the columns of course offerings.
It's possible that larger schools might have more elective classes or alternative sport teams, but Bellows Falls is a tightly knit, unique school where a student's interest and motivation is valued over everything.
The scenario that comes instantly to mind, but may seem out of place, occurred during the fall of my senior year.
That autumn, our well ran dry. While I was able to come in early in the morning to shower at school, I had no way to wash my clothes - an essential part of soccer season. I talked my best friend into taking my bag of dirty laundry home to wash it; however, somehow my laundry bag got misplaced, run over, and then left in the school driveway.
I spent a good part of the morning looking for it, until I found out from maintenance that they had rescued it and kept it in the custodian's garage. I was offered use of the school's laundry facilities and granted a day's pass to march up and down the halls, checking to determine if the cycle was complete.
That night, lying in bed, I laughed to myself about the strange events of the day. Where else could a student leave an entire dresser's worth of clothes out in the parking lot, have it rescued, and then wash them at school?
For any student with motivation and interest, Bellows Falls offers an unparalleled education, and I am so appreciative of that.
Either out of rebellion or intuition, I somehow found my way into this wall-less labyrinth and was able to successfully steer my way out.
Rebecca O'Neill was BFUHS 2011 class salutatorian.