Ross Brazzale's 2006 Rich East Valedictory Address

Senioritis.  I don’t know how many of you struggled with Senioritis this year, but even if it didn’t hit you too bad, I think you can still understand where I am coming from.  Classes dragged on, Spring Break seemed like it would never come, AP tests and finals seemed impossible to study for, and 8:10 seemed too early for even the sun to rise.  The minute my last AP test ended, I practically jumped out of my seat and I was mentally checked out of Rich East.  Done.

However, when I woke up Wednesday morning after my last day as a student at Rich East, I felt different.  Though it was almost noon and I was obviously well rested for the first time in what seemed like years, the thoughts running through my head exhausted me.  How many of you have known someone in this room for more than ten years?  How many of you have had teachers or coaches that have gone above and beyond to help you outside of the classroom?  How many of you have formed relationships at Rich East with someone of a completely different background than yours that you probably wouldn’t have met in your own neighborhood? 

Memories of the friends I have had since first grade, the teachers and coaches that helped me grow as a student at Rich East, and the unique relationships I would never have formed if it weren’t for my time at Rich East all rushed through my head Wednesday morning.  Even with the rest of our lives on the horizon, there is so much all of us are leaving behind.

Chats I have had with students from other schools have only solidified my thought that we, as former students of Rich East High School, are leaving something unique and wonderful behind.  As opposed to working on a school project in the classroom, working out after school, and going bowling on the weekends with people that are all the same skin color, income level, and mindset as me as is common in many schools throughout the country, I feel like I have been exposed to almost every teenage perspective there is.  Though there may be people you or I did not have the opportunity to talk with much during our time at Rich East, the diversity and resulting experience and knowledge we have all gained during our time at Rich East cannot be duplicated. 

Only as a Rocket in the South Suburbs of Chicago could I have the opportunity to work, relax, and learn with anyone from Keegan to Cortez and everyone in between.

Class of 2006, we are now free to begin our adult lives.  Whether you’re going to college, entering the work force, or joining the military, you are now all free to make your own choices in every aspect of your lives.  Though this freedom may be exciting for some of you yet terrifying for others, there is absolutely no turning back.  Despite the senioritis that seemed to drag out our senior year, we’re finally done and we must come to terms with all of the memories of high school.

As you move into your adult lives, I urge you to keep your memories of Chicago, of the south suburbs, and most importantly of Rich East in your mind.  Though Rich East as a building may be unfairly neglected when compared with a school in the northern suburbs, I would like to believe that we as graduates of Rich East have had a far greater life experience up to this point than a graduate of an isolated north or west suburban school.

Mohandas Gandhi, one of the most influential and peaceful leaders of recent history, once said “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stifled. I want all the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”  Up to this point in your lives, you have had many cultures blown about the place you live.  Though you are all still individuals headed off to your unique futures, you have been enriched by many different perspectives on life.  As you go on to do great things in life, please keep your house open as Gandhi said, and maintain the attitude and mindset we have all been so fortunate to witness at Rich East.   

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