I would like to start my speech today by thanking the teachers, the administrators, the staff, and the supporters of Boothbay Region High School. I want to thank you on behalf of the senior class for helping us get where we are today, and helping us to remember to appreciate where we came from.

Every night, at my family’s dinner table, my younger sister Sarah forces us to play a game. I don’t know where she picked it up, and quite frankly, if we knew who taught her it, I think my brother Graham would have a bone to pick with them. Anyways, the game is called “Rose, Thorn, Bud.”

The Rose represents the best part of your day, the Thorn the worst, and the Bud is what you are looking forward to. And while this dinner time nuisance of a game drives all of us crazy, especially when it takes some of the younger kids, ahem, Ford, up to 5 minutes to just come up with one of the answers, I kept reflecting on it as today, the Graduation of the Class of 2019, drew closer and closer. The more you think about it, the more high school can be wrapped up into a simple “Rose, Thorn and Bud.” So here it goes.

For many on the stage behind me, the Rose could very well be today, the day we graduate and enter “the real world.” Or perhaps it was winning a big game on your favorite sports team, or crushing that AP Exam or test you thought you would fail. Riley Sullivan’s rose is “the beginning of freshman year and the excitement of her first homecoming and making friends outside of her grade.” Wyatt Timberlake’s Rose is “the table flipping episode from freshman year.” For others, maybe it’s making these friendships that will forever impact who we are and who we will become.

And now for the Thorn. Maybe your thorn is failing that one test, or losing that baseball game, or games. Or perhaps it is when Mr. Gorey gives you yet another in-class essay, when Mrs. Graham gives you another lab report, or when Mr. L'Heureux gives you approximately 500 “pop” quizzes. Bayly Carrasco’s is the lack of a homecoming bonfire our senior year. Henry Drapeau’s thorn is “being too passionate.” Maybe some people’s thorn is today, the day we leave the comfort of the known and step out into the uncertainty of the unknown, to our futures as individuals.

And now for the Bud. I feel like this one is kinda self explanatory and very universal to all of us here on the stage today. For Faith Blethen, her Bud is the “reset button that college offers.” Cassidy Hicks is looking forwards to “independence” and is excited to see what life throws at her and to see where she ends up. Larisa Greenleaf’s Bud is “3 a.m. Denny’s trips” while she is studying at Eastern Maine Community College.

We are looking forward to our futures, which are looking so bright. On this stage before you sits future nurses, teachers, engineers, artists, writers, scientists, mechanics, soldiers and many more. All of these successful individuals are not only entering “adult life” today, but they are also entering their futures. Because of that, I want to congratulate all of my peers behind me, for not only working as hard as you did to get here today, but to congratulate you in advance for all of the success I know you will achieve.

If I could offer some advice, and please, understand that I am in no way wise enough for anyone to take this with more than a grain of salt, it would be to take time to reflect. For us, the graduates, there will never be a better time than now to remember to appreciate the Roses, learn from the Thorns and work towards the Buds. This junction between childhood and adulthood is one that we will not be standing at again, and it is important now more than ever that we choose our future actions deliberately and thoughtfully. It is time for us to appreciate the good things we have experienced thus far and remain grateful and humbled.

It is time for us to remain steadfast, but understand and expect bumps along the way, because we all know there will be a lot of them. It is time for us to look forward to our futures and start making strides in the right direction. And if that seems as overwhelming as it sounds, take comfort in the fact that almost everyday can be simplified into a Rose, Thorn and Bud. Thank you