Balance and place stressed to TCC 2022 graduates
May 23—THOMASVILLE — The hats flew into the air Saturday morning as 262 members of the Thomas County Central High School class of 2022 graduated at the Jackets' Nest.
"I'm sure it seems like you've faced a lot of unexpected changes throughout our high school career, but we finally made it," senior class president Kariana Colon said.
Colon encouraged her classmates to thank their parents, family and teachers for helping make the moment possible.
"Their love, trust and encouragement have allowed us to flourish," she said. "I am extremely proud of how our class has grown and I am looking forward to seeing where life takes everyone."
Salutatorian Koda Copeland said he never expected to be second in the class. He spent the first seven grades getting home-schooled.
"I joined public school with no friends and no aspirations," he said.
He spoke to his classmates on balance and chemical equilibrium.
"Our time is a finite resource. It should never be spent on something that isn't worth it," he said. "That finite resource must be shared equally to make sure that all parts of our lives are maintained with well-roundedness."
Copeland said his class is stronger, smarter, more resilient and more prepared to take its place than it was before
"We are battered and bruised and I am proud," he said. "We are not the same people we once were. I hope you remember the people who helped you become the person you are today and I hope you remember how hard you worked to get where you are today and you can look back and tell yourself, it was worth it.
Thank you for making every moment we shared special and helping me find balance in an unbalanced world."
Valedictorian Karsyn Bush noted that throughout their education, they have been grouped by last name — even for a graduation.
"I had to sit near the front of the classroom," she said. "In elementary school, I was never at the end of the line when you had the privilege of turning the lights out as we left the classroom.
"We have been grouped in different ways over the last 12 years. There is no inherent value in our seat number or where we were in line. But it did determine who we became friends with."
Yet there were occasions to learn about diversity and inclusion with sitting near a student of a different race or who spoke a different language, and working with slower readers on projects helped teach patience, she said.
"After high school, you will not be placed in this order," Bush said, "but you will have skills and valuable lessons this order helped you gain. There are things we have no control over. However, we do have control over how we let those things affect us and we get to decide how we react. Today, we are placed in order. Today, we had to sit where we were told.
"But tomorrow, we get to choose our place."
