ETHAN SOROKO
Honor Essayist
Good evening North Reading High School graduating class of 2023. It is with great honor that I have the opportunity to speak to you as well as our faculty, family, and friends who are here tonight. It is also against all odds that I am standing here this evening after recently having to survive a full week in Japan with Mr. Loprete.
Congratulations to the North Reading High School graduating class of 2023. We made it! We’re here at our high school graduation! We’re completely done! Well, not so fast.
We’ve all completed high school, a highly significant chapter of our lives. We’ve spent the last four years challenging ourselves both inside and outside of school. We’ve made new friends, hopefully some that will last a lifetime. We’ve most likely struggled at times, yet still managed to have many great experiences along the way. But what does this accomplishment of graduating high school really mean?
I would like to share a quick story from my personal experience in martial arts training. When I earned my black belt in the Korean style of karate, Tang Soo Do, one of the first things I noticed was the color of the belt. Like me, I’m sure all of you here would assume a black belt would be the color black. Congratulations, this means you all have great deductive reasoning skills. However, when I received my first black belt, I noticed it was actually a very dark shade of midnight blue. Out of confusion, I asked my instructor, “Why are black belts actually the color blue?” He promptly explained to me that black is a color that does not get darker so it has historically symbolized death or the end of learning. In contrast, midnight blue represents the knowledge that we have already absorbed, but it is not so dark that we cannot absorb more. Essentially, this midnight blue color symbolizes a new beginning, where students can continue to learn and improve their technique as well as gain greater insight into the martial art.
Thinking back to this, I realized the diplomas that will be handed to us in just a few moments also symbolize a new beginning. But what is it that we will all do with this new beginning?
Before I answer this question, I want to take a moment to appreciate the hard work our class has put in over the past four years. Maybe I’m biased, but I think it’s fair to say that our class is one of the most talented groups to have ever gone through North Reading High School. The other day, I was driving into town when I noticed the “Welcome to North Reading” sign had been updated with our school’s recent state championships. Our football, boys’ track, girls’ track, and cheerleading teams are all listed on that sign with state championship titles from within the past two years. And thanks to the girls’ track team winning states just two weeks ago, that sign is already outdated. And not to mention, this sign doesn’t even list the school records that have been broken by certain athletes in our grade.
In addition to athletics, our performing arts organizations like Masquers, NOTEorious, jazz band, concert band, and chorus have all worked incredibly hard to bring home hardware, including state championships, over the past couple of years. We also have incredible student leaders who have organized our school’s nationally recognized unified sports team. Additionally, so many students in our grade have taken the initiative to volunteer through clubs or on their own to combat pressing issues in North Reading and surrounding communities. And of course, everyone has invested so much time into their education, and many will be moving on to incredible colleges, the armed forces, or a career in another field after today.
Now I could go on and on about how truly amazing our grade is, but I was told if I do so they would have the band start playing as they kick me off the microphone.
So to answer my question about what we are going to do with this new beginning, it’s to show the world what we as Hornets are capable of doing. Keep putting in the incredible effort that we have all been putting into our work to make the planet a better place. But I’d also like to challenge you all. Throughout the next few years of your life, I’d like you all to try something new. Try something that scares you. Try something difficult that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Try something that you never could have predicted yourself doing. And most importantly, find and do the things that you love. Find the things that bring you happiness. Surround yourself with those who bring you joy and support you. I know not every single one of you knows exactly what you want your future to look like and that is perfectly okay. Today marks a new beginning full of limitless possibilities to explore and discover new things.
I want to share the end of a poem by Robert Frost titled “The Road Not Taken.”
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I want each and every one of you to take the road less traveled by. Trust me, I know at some points it may seem like there are many different roads to take. I promise you that no matter which path you take, there will be something fulfilling waiting for you at the end.
Before I leave this podium, I would like to thank all of those who have all supported me on my journey down the road that brought me to this spot today. Thank you mom and dad for always supporting my goals regardless of how many times I’ve driven you crazy. I also want to thank my grandparents who have been my biggest cheerleaders showing up to the majority of my sports games throughout my life. I also want to give a big thank you to all of our teachers and faculty members who have worked so hard to continue giving us an incredible education, even in the midst of a global pandemic. And lastly, thank you to all of my friends and my girlfriend who have shown me how much fun life can be.
Now friends, we sure have accomplished a lot together in just four short years, but I hope you all agree that we are not done just yet. Personally, I am looking forward to the next chapter in my life as an Eagle at Boston College, but I will forever remain a Hornet at heart. So come join me as we all transition into this new beginning to show the world what we, the 2023 North Reading Hornets, are capable of doing.
Rain showers fail to dampen the resilient spirit of the NRHS Class of 2023
