To all the members of the Class of 2022 at our local high schools – whether you graduated last week or will be doing so soon – we offer a hearty congratulations.
It’s the culmination of a journey that started when you were small children, headed off to pre-K or kindergarten for the first time. It’s an accomplishment made more impressive by having two years of your high school career affected by lockdowns, virtual schooling and everything else that came with COVID-19. High school graduation is a time when everyone, regardless of one’s high school experience, can celebrate.
It is also a time when parents, friends, family and graduation speakers will offer best wishes and advice for the future. So today, we offer our own, in the form of simple advice that everyone can follow.
Always try to be a good person.
Even though it’s probably impossible to be a good person all the time, and no one is perfect, it is always a worthwhile goal. It can take many forms: volunteering for a community activity, serving as a role model for younger children, being kind to a server who’s having a rough day, sticking up for someone who’s being mistreated, holding a door open for someone whose arms are full, saying “please,” “thank you” and “you’re welcome,” living honestly and just being nice to people.
And while being a good person can include giving money to worthwhile causes, it doesn’t have to cost anything. There’s no fee for smiling at a passerby, no toll for helping someone, no tax for kindness, no price on courtesy.
But the return is immense. Being a good person feels good, and it’s good for others. A small act of kindness can make someone’s else’s day a bit brighter, and most certainly will make yours, so both you and the person you’re helping benefit.
So to all the local high school graduates, we once again offer our congratulations. May all your dreams come true, and may you always strive to be good people in pursuit of those dreams.