“Every parent understands this it is our general life mission to find meaning in the chaos that occurs on a day-to-day basis,” said Freedom HS Principal Laurie Sage at the June 6 commencement at Stabler Arena. She invoked the evening’s theme, proposed by the student speakers from a class of 430 who were greatly impacted by COVID, world events and runaway technologies.

“In the midst of chaos, that’s where the magic happens. I wondered how are you 17-18-year-old students able to find meaning in the confusion,” she said, relaying the tale of a typical school career from kindergarten through graduation, knowing each student had their own version to which they had to adjust and compensate and learn, and reassuring that they will meet the next step with everything they need.

“You graduates are moving to a new school or a full-time job or into the military, and while you’re finding your way in this new normal, your families will try to find new meaning in the quiet. You dear seniors will find your way in your new reality. As you get older, finding the meaning in chaos isn’t just a part of life, it is life.”

Student-chosen speaker John Jabbour said finding one’s meaning is the common quest for high school students. A new environment with new responsibilities, people and challenges can bring into the minds of overthinking teenagers, ‘what’s my meaning in all of this?’

“There are two principles that I have found have been very important in my life and in finding my meaning. These values have been commitment and perseverance, and these two are so important to me because you can’t have one without the other,” Jabbour said. “Over the last four years every member of the class of 2025 has had to make a commitment, whether it was solely to graduate, a sport, job or ensemble, when we make a commitment to these things we can’t just say we’re going to do them, we act it. After all, actions speak louder than words, and we succeeded.”

Jabbour cited the leading softball team, the Hopes and Hearts charity, which worked tirelessly to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer, and the band traveling across the state, country and abroad to represent the Freedom community. “You have persevered and achieved so much along the way just in order to be seated in this room. Even when I was confused and thought of just giving up, I had one thought in the back of my mind – keep going. I had faith that if I persevered I would find my meaning. I made the decision to push myself beyond what I thought I was capable of and joined the United States Marine Corps.”

Jabbour shared the applause, name-dropping a number of classmates for their efforts and inspiration, and reminded them all a lifetime of challenges still awaits.

“Uncertainty can be scary … the future is scary, but we have to be strong. Find your meaning and push through the chaos.”

“As a child I wanted to be a lot of things,” faculty-chosen speaker Jillian Potter said. “Creativity was endless. One thing I’ll miss is the perspective of seeing life with neon glasses, where everything feels sort of magical. The world felt so wide and full of potential, like we could be anything we dreamed of, even if those dreams changed by the minute. I wanted to be everything all at once, but most of all I want it to be the person that someone could talk to and take positivity from and I made a forever promise to myself to smile on my good days, and my bad. I find and learn something new from each person I meet. We can learn something from everyone.”

She recalled an assignment to write a letter to her future self in which she hoped she was taller, if she still got nervous before performing in a play and if she is successful. The latter was food for introspection.

“I’ve learned that success isn’t how others perceive you, or how fortunate you are or where you come from; it’s the little wins that go unnoticed. Like laughing with friends or getting a hug from somebody when they didn’t know how badly you needed it. Being the reason somebody smiles.

“We survived our four years and we learned that the best we could do is focus on the things we can control and not what we can’t. For some reason positivity is often questioned. I’d get asked ‘why are you always smiling?’ My dad always told me you can either be a tidal wave or a teardrop. Allow yourself to feel. It reminds us how alive and capable we are.

“I’m smiling today for me. I’m smiling for my class.”

In life everything has meaning, Potter said, and the right things will stay with you while the wrong things will always run the opposite way. Being yourself is the key to finding your people – the ones who stay and who get you.

“Class of 2025, this is the good stuff.”

Principal Laurie Sage remembered 17-year-old David Nagy, who died in a car accident days earlier. “We remember him as a beloved member of the junior class, unbelievably intelligent, an advocate for fair funding and for his peers in need, and a gentle soul who wanted to help others. I can say with 100 percent confidence that we at Freedom are better people for having known him and we will feel his profound loss for years to come.”