The Importance of family

'Welcome, President Dave Fleegel (Dad), Superintendent Lundy, Principal Lybert, Vice Principal Guden, faculty, family, friends, and most importantly, the Class of 2025.' Seniors, I want you to take a look around and find the people who are family to you. In the dictionary, family means a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption, often living together and providing mutual support, love, and a sense of belonging. Now, I don’t know about you all, but I strongly believe that family is much more than just those who are related to us through blood.

Throughout life, I have always cherished my family trips, with seemingly endless car rides and bickering between my siblings and me. Even with the constant bickering, these trips hold memories that I look back on and smile. Despite any frustrations my family brings, they remind me that it's those arguments, support, and experiences that build a family. As you may know, I lost my mom this year to cancer; she will forever be my hero. If there is one thing she taught me, it’s that family matters– no matter what form it takes. Many of you, like me, have lost someone close to you, whether it was a parent, grandparent, sibling, pet, or friend. The pain of loss is overwhelming, and no single person should go through that alone. In those times, we turn to the family that is bigger than just those who are bonded to us through blood. Instead, it's our best friends from childhood who know all of our secrets and quirks. Or new friends who help us realize that we put ourselves down too much, when we should be lifting ourselves, and praising ourselves for our hard work and accomplishments. We need to open our eyes and realize that we have much more family than those who live in our house or share our DNA, and that all of these people have helped us get to where we are.

I know everyone has different living situations and families, but that doesn’t mean you are alone. You may feel like there is not one person in the world who cares about you or whether you move on in life. I believe that if you are sitting here today, about to walk across the stage to receive a diploma, then that proves someone cared, someone pushed you through the bad to make sure you didn’t fall short of what they knew you could achieve. I know not everyone has the most friends or even family members to fall back on when you need a push forward, but I want you to think back to a moment when you struggled with something you felt you’d never overcome. Maybe it was a class or a moment where you doubted yourself. I can guarantee that someone was there who helped get you to take a breath and overcome it. Even when you feel your peers aren’t your friends, or like you can’t talk to family, I bet there is a teacher or other adult in the school who believes in you and would love to help. These teachers, contrary to some people’s belief, are here to make sure that you succeed, no matter how much extra time and persistence it takes.

So the next time you feel like you are falling and have no one to turn to, just remember that your family is bigger than the people you are connected with through blood. Throughout your time, you’ve built a family of friends, teachers, and anyone who helped you along the way. Without my big family, I truly believe I wouldn’t be standing here awaiting the moment I walk across the stage and receive my diploma.

Class of 2025, we did it, together. — Naomi Fleegel