—Calvin Johnson
“I challenge you all to take advantage of this opportunity, not only by utilizing the endless resources available here but also by treating your peers, your teachers, and yourselves with respect. And of course, express gratitude.”
—Holden Hanenberger
“Take a gamble on being yourself, cause life’s too short to live as someone you’re not.”
—Jake O’Leary
“Senior advice: to quote Hamlet, ‘This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.’”
—Jake Klineman
“Like myself, this chapel has been an accumulation of external and internal thoughts, beliefs, rememberings, and gratitude.
I will leave off with one final thank-you.
Thank you to all the people who have given me new names, for they have only added to me, and perhaps brought me more identity from the most common name in the world.”
—Sophia Peng
“You cannot control what happens, but you can control what you do with it. In life, obstacles are thrown, most of which are out of your control. Throughout my life, I have realized that even when you are faced with things out of your control, embrace it as an opportunity for growth, as a way to try new things, and a way to define it.”
—Emily Emanuel
“Throughout my life, I have realized that even when you are faced with things out of your control, embrace it as an opportunity for growth, as a way to try new things, and a way to define it.”
—Emily Emanuel
“We have to not let how nice we are distract us from how kind we could be.”
—Mia Sinno Smith
“I could easily write little shout-outs for my entire grade. But, I don’t have the time for that. So thank you to everyone.”
—Mei Reed
“…I resonate with the idea of measuring the meaning of life in time. Maybe I don’t need a religion when I have memories; Memories of the people I care about and of the places whose walls have seen me ebb and flow into the person standing here today.”
—Cameron Levesque
“Vietnam is home to my childhood filled with endings. One day I will return for good, I will come home to my family. My mother says tradition is the most important thing in this world. Someday I will inherit and with it I will dance in rain and starlight. Do not forget your roots, do not forget who you are.”
—Suri Tran
“My Mom and I have the same favorite word, alacrity, which means ‘cheerful, eager, readiness.’ I bestow it upon you, Universe, to keep me in tune with my alacrity. I aspire to be cheerful. I aspire to be eager. I am ready.”
—Ripley Bright
“Lana del Rey, my savior. What would I do without you.”
—Gitanjali Belleau-Bhowmik
“So for now I dream of being loud”.
—Andrew Wood-Sue Wing
“‘Time is an unrenewable resource and you have given some to me.’Thank you to everyone who goes through their lives trying to listen to the people around them.”
—Susanna Kelman
“Contrary to popular belief I used to be a very quiet kid. As you can tell I’ve drastically changed.”
—Ejemen Omonzane
“Look to learn and listen to understand.”
—Reyan Kassam
“You’re not perfect the way you are. We all have many, many terrible flaws. And that’s what makes us human. That’s what makes us good and sparks nuance and humanity. Flaws are the gift of constant improvement. We all have our issues. Learn from them. Embrace them. Seek improvement.”
—Sophie Lubin
“Fish can't fly.”
—Henrik Gombos
“You need to be the right type of person to make a chapel that really sticks with people and makes them remember it years down the line.”
—Brooks Largay
“Yes, there are some people, the ones who are inherently inconsiderate or demeaning, who are entitled to a life where they never have to learn how to care or just choose not to.
But then there’s also the people who remind you that to care is beautiful.”
—Christine Cevallos-Lozano
“Time goes by quickly, and before you know it, you’ll be up here giving your own chapel. At the beginning of the school year, some of my friends and I woke up early to watch the sun rise on our senior year. In the summertime, my sister and I walk to the beach and go for a swim just as the sun kisses the horizon. People are usually awake for sunsets, but sunrises happen every day, too. We often lament the endings of things –– last first day, last holiday concert, last Winterfest, etc., but don’t appreciate the beginnings enough. The first chapel you’ve ever heard. Your first Club Expo. The first time you explored Nesting. The first day of spring.
According to daysoftheyear.com, April 14th is Look Up at the Sky Day. Senior advice: wake up early and see the sunrise.”
—Abbie Deng
“The people you find—anywhere really, but especially at CA—are some of the most interesting that this world has to offer. Once you have finished excavating through the infinity of a single friend, or mentor, or classmate, unearthing their memories, parsing through their fears and desires, ruminating on their promises kept and broken, the things they wish they had or hadn't said, and gazing up at the achievements pinned to the corkboard of their identities—you will find that that you have enough to write about. You could fill all the books in the world, and still have enough material spare to do it again, and again, and again.”
—Daniel Xu
“Look for reasons to smile, be grateful, and be kind.”
—Kefan Cui
“Smiling has become a lying mechanism for survival. There is so much hidden within us—secrets we bury, choices we make, and truths we hesitate to confront. I don’t know your story. I have yet to share mine in its entirety. With this distance between ourselves, please hold space for gratitude and forgiveness.”
—Aurora Hao