It is the question that people will ask us for the rest of our lives. “What was high school to you?” There are many ways to go about answering that question. I could attack that question with a plethora of quotes ranging from films like Forrest Gump to books like The Fault in our Stars. I could make some witty analogy comparing the high school experience to anything from a pearl in the ocean to a recipe for a perfect life. However, I believe the answer to this question relies in an answer that is ever more simplistic: high school is about continuing to bring your legend to life.

Firstly, I must offer congratulations to everyone graduating today. I also thank parents, grandparents, friends and family for being here today to share in this special moment for us all. Today marks the completion of this chapter in our stories. And even though we all shared a common goal during our four years here at Prairie Ridge, we all went about it in different ways:

Cecilia Smith was completing her legend by advancing to state in the event of impromptu speaking for speech team.

Seniors on the football team completed their legend by advancing to the quarterfinals in the playoffs this year, a spot several believed they would not reach.

Senior Charley Popp was completing his legend by yet again coming out on top at the conference tournament for wrestling.

Tanner Danek was completing his story by embracing the bromance that he shares with motivational speaker Keith Hawkins.

Seniors Lili Schiller and Marissa Gabel went about completing their stories by making it to the All-State Choirs for their achievements in singing.

Seniors on the POM team were completing their chapters here at Prairie Ridge by advancing to the State Tournament after placing at Regionals.

You see, I could go on for quite awhile continuing to list the achievements of our graduating class but just from this small snippet of accomplishments it is evident not just the sheer volume of our work but also the grand variety of our work. When we arrived at the doors of Prairie Ridge, we each began a new chapter of our individual legends right at the very moment we took a step into the halls of the school. In these four years each and every one of us held the power to have a chapter that could either change the tides of the school community or just take up an empty seat in a class. Regardless of what you think about your role in this chapter in our lives that is high school, now is the moment to look on at the horizon of a new time in our lives.

So I offer one more assignment to everyone to make this next chapter in your legend not just one so as to be successful but to make it significant too. Several students have gone through these halls successfully completing all that they had to do, but very few have taken the challenge to leap beyond the requirements in order to make their time here significant. And you know which students were the significant ones because they are the ones that teachers even up to this year continue to talk about. Those were the people that did not just continue their legend, rather, they were the ones that left part of their legend here with us. We will always remember fondly all of the friendships along with the great and wacky times we shared together at Prairie Ridge. But that book has just been finished and the transition is soon to be completed.

To the Prairie Ridge Class of 2014, let me be the first to welcome you to the world out there that awaits us. Let me also be the first to challenge you to not just continue your legend, but to also make it so you leave your legend behind for generations to come.