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gown,” Sutton announced. She looked around for a moment, then saw a check-in table surrounded by excited eighth graders. She walked over to the table and saw her friend Sarah.  
    “Sutton! Hey!” Sarah threw her arms around Sutton. “This is so exciting, isn’t it?”
    “Yeah … I’m a bit nervous though.”
    “Oh, shush, you’ll be amazing, as always. Can you believe we’ll be in high school in a few months?”
    “It’s pretty crazy.”
    “There will be so many new boys,” Sarah said excitedly.  
    Sutton laughed. “Yes, there will be,” she replied, finding her cap and gown. She also got to wear a yellow sash, to signify her Honor Roll status. She was proud of herself, even if her parents weren’t.  
    “Are you ready to go line up?” Sarah asked, brimming with excitement.  
    “As ready as I’ll ever be.” They walked over to the line as the gym teacher, Coach Rhodes, showed them to their spots, which were close together since Sarah’s last name was McAdams.  
    Sutton put on her cap and gown, and draped the sash across her chest. Not too many people in the class were wearing them, so she felt a huge sense of pride and accomplishment. She knew her parents couldn’t always be proud of her. They most certainly didn’t support her extracurricular activities, which was ironic seeing as her father’s mom was a very successful writer. Sutton didn’t understand why he wouldn’t want the same for her, or why he at least couldn’t just believe in her.  
    The students in the line grew quiet as the Dean approached the podium. The audience clapped, then there was silence once again.  
    “Welcome, friends and family. We are honored to have you all here today to celebrate the graduation of these amazing students. It has been an absolute pleasure watching these kids grow over the last three years. We appreciate all the love and support you have provided during their time here. They will be sorely missed, though I am very proud to see them begin a new chapter in their lives. Without further ado, I present to you the class of 2010!”
    The graduation song began, and Sutton’s stomach was in nervous knots. She was excited for her parents to hear her speech. Though it was short, she had spent a ridiculous amount of time on it because she had wanted it to be perfect.  
    Sutton marched along as the names were called and the students grabbed their diplomas. She beamed with excitement as they announced her name. She held her diploma up high as she smiled widely.  
    Sutton sat down amongst the other graduates and awaited her name being called. After the last graduate took their seat, the crowd ceased the applause. The dean then said, “It is my pleasure to bring a very special girl up to the stage. I have witnessed her passion over the years and I couldn’t be more proud to announce your 2010 valedictorian, Sutton Meyers!”
    Sutton stood up and walked to the podium as the audience clapped and cheered. She pulled out her speech and took a deep breath.  
    “Hello everyone. I am honored to address you all today. This has been an amazing journey. I have learned many valuable lessons and met many great people. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us. Sure, a chapter is closing. And that’s always sad, but we’ll take this experience with us as we depart. e. e. cummings once said ‘It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.’ As we go forth from here, we will begin the true discovery of who we are. And who we hope to become. We’ll learn and love and lose things we hold dear along the way, but just remember: every person who floats in and out of our lives is there to teach us a lesson. We must be open to those lessons. We must embrace them with open arms, and we must never let someone else write our own story. You alone hold the pen. Dare to write a story worth reading, the kind of story you would want to read over and over again, the kind of book you never want to put down.