BRHS Graduation

Honors Essay by Olivia Paolillo

Mon, 06/10/2019 - 5:15pm

Hello Faith, hello families, hello friends, hello faculty, and hello to the class of 2019.

My name is Olivia Paolillo and during my time at BRHS, I have cultivated many useful skills. Many of these lessons were traditional; for example, Mr. Liberti taught me how to calculate the acceleration of a car speeding up. Mr. Powell taught me just how applicable calculus is to life (or maybe just my life). Mrs. Lewis has elevated my artistic ability from that of a kindergartner to that of a 5th graders. But more importantly, I’ve learned valuable lessons I will cherish for the rest of my life.

The first is to be kind to every single person you meet. Kindness in universal, is understood by everybody and is needed today more than ever. If we practice being kind everyday, it eventually becomes and unconscious habit.

At the beginning of the year I would say, “It costs nothing to be nice.” As the year went on, I saw how powerful an act of kindness could be. As we venture on, we must advocate for kindness within ourselves and others. When we leave this school, this town, or even this state, people will remember us most by the way that we made them feel.

Attending such a small school definitely has its strengths and weaknesses. But I believe it has made each of us stronger. All of us have a head start in compromising with people because we’ve been in close contact together for years. In a small school it is impossible to avoid or hide from your problems, trust me, I’ve tried. We simply have to face our problems because chances are you’re going to see them in the hallway. In a class of 50, there isn’t room to lose friends over petty disagreements. I urge you take this skill wherever you go and apply it to all your future relationships.

Believe it or not, this next lession was inspired by my brother. One morning I was late to school because of a crippling case of senioritis. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a very serious condition that affects seniors at the end of their high school career. Just ask any of us. As I was complaining about going to school, my brother said to me, “You should still go even if there is the slightest chance that you could learn something.” Now, if you know me, you know that I would never give my brother the satisfaction of knowing he said something significant. But this principal in particular stuck with me because oftentimes I learned things when I least expected to.

Most of us leave the building relieved that we are done learning for the day. We may not realize it yet, but life is short, even though this week has been the longest month of my life.

Face everyday and every moment with the attitude that you will learn at least one new thing. Whether it’s a good experience or a bad one, there is always wisdome to gain. I guarantee if you go through life with this mindset, you will be successful in whatever path you take. As Albert Einstein once said, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

Finally, whatever you choose to do, do the very best that you possibly can. I don’t say this so you can make your parents happy or your friends jealous. I say this because the people sitting up here with me today worked hard to get to where they are. We’ve all had our share of setback throughout the years. As you go out into the world be the best that you can be because you owe it to your past self. The past you worked incredibly hard to get to where you are now. Show them it was worth it.

Class of 2019, be kind, learn everything, and be the best you can because you owe it to yourselves.