Dear Class of 2015,

We made it.

Let that sink in for a minute.

In a matter of days, we will be transformed from Bel Air High School students to Bel Air High School alumni.

Ever since we first walked through those doors way-back-when in 2011, we have had this day in sight. But now it is finally our time. It is our turn to walk across that stage, turn our tassels, throw our caps and walk out those doors into a new world that we have the power to change.

But let us not forget the world we’ve known inside and out for the last four years. The halls of Bel Air High School (even the second floor A to B wing) have been our home. We’ve seen triumphs and changes in our fellow students, teachers and ourselves. Our senior year we have spent “A Night on the Island” at Homecoming, seen our Cheerleaders take home a State Championship, had all of our music programs receive a Superior rating at the County Festival, seen three phenomenal shows by our ever-talented Bel Air Drama Company, participated in two Matt Rutherford Memorial events, watched our Girls’ Lacrosse team make a states run, had “Our Moment” at prom and most of all, we have made it through this last year together.

Most of us are probably ready for graduation day, ready to make changes in our lives as we head off to college, a trade school, the workplace, the military, etc. But I’m sure all of us have doubts. We wonder if this elaborate plan we have for our lives will fall into place as we’ve always dreamed. Or we worry because we have no plan and we’re not sure where this life beyond high school will take us.

Steven Pinker, an experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, linguist, and popular science author, has this to say about the world we live in, “We will never have a perfect world, but it’s not romantic or naïve to work toward a better one.” (Yes this quote has recently been featured on Chipotle bags.)

Here at BAHS we are no strangers to tragedy. Over our time at BAHS we’ve dealt with loss and have grown closer because of it. As teenagers that are going out into the world we are beginning to understand the complexities of it. We see that changes need to be made and people say that there are many problems that are never going to be fixed.

But we are the generation that can prove them wrong. In a recent video entitled “Happy Graduation, Future Dead People” scientist and YouTuber Hank Green describes how fortunate and powerful this generation of advancing students are. His main point in the video can be summed up in this statement, “The only thing anyone can ask of you as a human is to solve more problems than you create.”

As we get ready to leave our comfort zone of Bel Air High School let us remember the lessons we’ve learned, both inside and outside of the classroom. Let us remember the patience we’ve (hopefully) gained as we sat in the parking lot at 2:07. Let us remember the countless “I Believe” chants that will ring in our ears. Let us remember the incredible musicianship and talent left on the stage by the Music Department and Drama Company. Let us remember our teachers, faculty and staff that have guided the way for the last four years, and will do so one last time as they lead us into graduation day.

On behalf of the Class of 2015, thank you Bel Air High School. Once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat.