Senior Dinner Speech - Ananya Ganeriwalla
WORDS OF WISDOM
Senior Dinner Blessing - Grant Phillips
Graduation Invocation - Matthew White
Dear Lord, Thank you for this special day and the wonderful ceremony that is about to begin. As your children begin to leave Parish and start their new lives, watch over each and every one of them so they will never be alone, even in the darkest of times. Watch and care for everyone, that they may remain safe and cared for, for all of their lives. Also, Lord, bless them with hope so they may extend their arms to the future with eager and open hearts. Help them to acquire the knowledge and skills they have learned from Parish Episcopal School into their daily lives. Inspire them to live a life of passion and joy. And, Lord, please pervade in us the love of hard work and purpose over ephemeral gains. We also pray that our lives will be full of service, love, peace and happiness. Thank you for the guidance and care you have given us from birth until this very day as we begin our futures tomorrow, and may you be with us forever more. All of this we ask in your holy name we pray, Amen.
1 parish.org | C L A S S 2 0 2 0 commencement edition
I would like to start by thanking: God for this incredible milestone that we as a class have reached this day; parents for their endless guidance and encouragement; and the admin and school for providing the necessary resources and knowledge to propel us toward the new beginnings. Without the endless support of the beforenamed, we would not be the grown men and women we are today. And, I believe I speak for all 113 seniors behind me in expressing our deepest gratitude for the sacrifices that everyone has made to get us here. Secondly, we ask for God’s blessing on this momentous transition in our lives from high-schoolers to young adults finding our foothold in our respective communities. Through our hardships in these trying times, we look to Him for protection over not just ourselves but all the people of the world. His power is grand. His knowledge is far more than we could ever comprehend. His plan is beyond our human perception and, therefore, we put our trust in Him to lead us to prosperity. Amen.
SUMMER 2020 |
. . . The game of Monopoly (yup, that board game sprawled on your coffee table) is fundamentally the worst game to ever be invented. . . . But one day, amidst searching never ending pieces of Monopoly, I came across another game, one that didn’t mess with my already-determined retirement plan: the game of Life. But you see, if you’ve ever played Life, the beginning of the game asks you to choose between two paths: college or career. . . . It failed to account for the decisions and memories and experiences that shaped our journeys to this stage. The game of Life leaves out the years that teach us why life is worth living. . . . So, I ask that over the next years, we channel our youth: to find joy in the little things and to embrace uncertainty. I ask that we continue to ask questions and offer puzzled expressions. I ask that we maintain our high-school friendships and engage in meaningful conversation. I ask that we never disguise our authentic, childhood self. In the game of Life, a dice with six dots determines your fate. It asks you to choose between college and career, and everything afterward. But in this life, our life, we pave our own path. So, let’s make good choices, honor what we’ve been taught, and simply live. We don’t need boardwalks in Miami to retire, class of 2020. Monopoly is and forever will be overrated.