Judson High School

When I was around five and first entering kindergarten, I would cry every single day because of how much I missed my mom. And when I say I cried, I mean I was full-out sobbing for hours on end every day for the longest time, which I think is funny considering that now my mom's been the one crying when I go to school because I'm about to graduate.

As seniors and young adults, we're expected to know everything we want to do with our lives: what careers we wish to pursue, which universities to attend, what goals and paths we explicitly want. And many of us do. Many of us have set out a clear goal to become actors, authors, lawyers, nurses, business owners, teachers.

But if you're uncertain about the path you want to take, or even about a small step of it, I want you to know that you're not alone. I was talking to my counselor, Ms. Solomon – an awesome counselor, by the way – about my plans after high school, and for a lot of her questions I found myself answering, “I don't know.” Personally, this made me feel guilty, because we're constantly told about how we're supposed to know what we want. But I don't. And lots of people say it's okay to not know, to look after yourself, but some of those same people also look down on you when you do just that.

I've told several people about my decision to take a break from school, most of whom responded by warning me about slacking off and giving me a comment about how someone they knew in high school “took a break” and never went back. And I know they meant well (at least I hope they did), but it kind of made me feel like I was in the wrong, like I didn't deserve to take the break that I felt I needed.

But do you know what Ms. Solomon told me? She told me, “I trust you.” And rather than focus on what could go wrong or on the opportunities missed, she emphasized the rise of new opportunities and possibilities that would lay ahead of me in the future, something which I

feel is crucial to differentiate between, especially as we graduate and move on in our lives. Now we are entrusted to make our own educational and life choices. As the passionately creative B.B. King said, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” No matter what choices you make or how many times your dreams change, you are always learning and growing.

The future is not set in stone. There is no perfectly set path for you to take. Because of that, it's your own character built through trust that leads you through life. That trust, whether given to you through yourself or through someone else, is what helps build you up into the person you're meant to be, the ever-growing version of you that brings you joy. In the words of Jodie Foster, your path is “waiting for you to knock, waiting for you to become, [and] this path does not belong to your parents, your teachers, or your lovers. Your path is your character defining itself more and more every day.”

Your path is exactly that: your path. And while today signals the start of a new phase in our lives, we've all been walking our own paths long before today. Class of 2021, while we still have a long journey ahead of us, we've already come this far, and for that we should be proud.

Alisha Pagan-Velez is the valedictorian of Judson High School’s class of 2021. She has been a member of the JHS band for four years and is a percussionist. Her family is from Puerto Rico and she is a product of three JISD schools.