Salutorian Address for the Heritage Christian Schools Class of 2006

Rising from Ashes

The legend of the Phoenix has been around for centuries. There are a few variations, but the basic idea is this: The Phoenix is a supernatural and gentle creature, living for 1000 years. Once that time is over, it builds its own funeral pyre, and throws itself into the flames. As it dies, it is reborn anew, and rises from the ashes to live another 1000 years. The Phoenix not only represents immortality and virtue, but also an individual who stands apart from the rest, a person of rare qualities.

We have a class of such people. We stand apart from the rest. The class of 2006 has personalities that should never be put together, and in fact we have clashed spectacularly on many issues, mostly theological. I have to say that despite the harsh words that were sometimes said, and the very sarcastic remarks, I will miss those lunches in the basement where we were predestined to talk about predestination.

I would like to remind the Class of 2006 of a quote from Mr. Schultz said at the beginning of our sophomore year. He said, “Your class will be a kickin’ senior class.” I was not sure what he meant then, but as I have watched us grow up and grow closer, I think I know what he meant. He saw the potential in us we could not see in ourselves. He saw our rare qualities.

Of course we had our teachers to…bring out the best in us with their wit and charm. Specifically Mr. Winter’s yelling and banging on the walls of geometry or trig class, or Mr. Moore’s sideways comments at the strangest of times. And since we were the only class to have Mr. Carlson for Junior English, I have to mention the “mmmmmmmm”s and the random quotes of “Just try and listen to the voices in your head,” or “Yecke, that noise is yucky.”

I remember Pre-Calc at the beginning of junior year when Mr. Thompson saw Cindy’s semi-nervous breakdown over homework and said, “Your carefree world is crumbling down around you.” Little did we know, he was right. And when most of the Pre-Calc class was not going to take Calculus the next year, I remember how Mr. Thompson spent an entire class period trying to convince us Calculus was useful, and then proceeded to slightly-guilt trip us all into taking the class. By the way, most of us did, and Mr. Thompson, we suffered through it with Christian perseverance.

And how can the Class of 06 forget Pastor Cady’s Bible class that taught us about the infallible Scriptures and the intricacies of Marriage and Family. Those two notebooks will never be thrown away. And we can never forget Mr. Schultz who showed us Shakespeare and WWII movies and taught us the basics of German and the beauty of German literature in English between the “secret lab” days and the story times.

There were also events that brought out our unique qualities. The thirteen who went to Washington D.C. to compete in the We The People nationals will forever remember singing B S U R and dancing on the bus while we went sightseeing. And we will also fondly remember the studying till 3 AM at Starbucks and the frantic remembering during the weeks before we competed. We stretched ourselves father than we ever thought possible.

And I will never forget the first AP Chemistry class in Heritage history, wherein there were, at the end, six of us who learned just as much about life, theology and World of Warcraft as we did about chemistry. Between Alex dodging acid, calculating BTUs per feet squared, and “It’s like the fourth of July in my beaker!” I am amazed that we accomplished anything at all. Hats off to you Mr. Sufferling.

Yes we have had experiences that have tried and tested us, personally, athletically, and academically throughout all our high school years. And we do wish to thank all of you who have supported us through the hard times and good times. It was your well-meaning guidance that brought us here today. Many times we did not appreciate all that you did, but you did it anyway. Many times we aggravated you, hassled you, annoyed you to no end, but you stuck with us, forgave us, and loved us. And though we may not say it often enough, or loud enough, you mean the world to us. Thank you, for all you have done and will continue to do.

I believe we are a class of phoenixes. Each of us has qualities that set us apart from others. And it was through difficult circumstances that our class was forged. Whether it was debates over women’s roles in the church or talking about personal difficulties, friendships were made and hardened hopefully to the point that they will never be broken.

Class of 2006, we have lived through highs and lived through lows. We have experienced all that we could here, in the world of Heritage Christian, and now we are entering a larger one, that has been continually moving along outside our doorstep whether we knew it or not. In this world there will be pinnacles and valleys, funerals and weddings; sadness and joy. We cannot live life without one or the other. There must be balance. And it is with this that I leave you: balance your lives. There must be fun and seriousness. There must be together and alone time. There must be the crazy times and the quiet times. There must be a balance, for it is only then, you realize you never did anything at all, God balanced everything for you. So,…Oh, and I do need to mention one of our claims to fame: We are the last senior class to be in the basement senior hallway.

So, Congratulations Class of 2006, God did it!