Editor’s note: Today, The DAILY LEADER continues publication of valedictorian and salutatorian speeches from recent graduation ceremonies at local schools. Today’s address is from Brookhaven Academy Salutatorian Amy Wallace.

     In the movie “Hope Floats,” Sandra Bullock says, “Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad; it’s what you do in between that counts the most.”

     When our parents dropped us off at school for the first time, most of us were a little afraid. Some of us cried and held on to our mothers’ legs, while others of us, like me, pouted quietly about being left. Eventually we warmed up to the idea of school and dropping us off was not as much of a battle to parents.

     Now, at the end of our high school career, many of us are sad. However, we say we are happy and excited. We finally get to have a little freedom and fun, but we are also thinking about the good times and friends that we will be leaving behind as many of us go our separate ways.

     What happened at this school in the years between is what we are all going to remember when we look back on our school days. We will smile when we remember all the good times we have had such as field trips and parties, and we will laugh about all the times we were mischievous and almost got into big trouble such as the food fight in the fourth grade and the more recent senior prank.

     We will also think about and be proud of all the state championships our teams have won. Even though our class fusses and fights sometimes, we still love each other and are thankful for every friend that we have made here.

     We are also thankful to the many teachers we have had over the years that have taught us more than even they realize. We are thankful to Mrs. Culbertson for her wonderful story-telling abilities and for teaching us patience by making us write so many note cards. We are thankful to Mrs. Rogers for making us look pretty in the yearbook. We are thankful to Mrs. Freeman for making us laugh with her humor and at the same time making us fear her toughness. We are thankful to Mrs. LeBlanc for teaching a Calculus class that very rarely wanted to learn and for finally figuring out how to use the smart board.

     We are thankful to Mrs. Thurman for being one of the most kind and genuine teachers on campus. We are thankful to both Mr. and Mrs. Whittier for their sarcasm and wit that made learning some of the hardest classes less tedious. We are thankful to Mrs. Keiza for teaching us all about computers and being the fun teacher. We are thankful to Coach McCarty for making us laugh with his jokes and making us never want to hear Dave Ramsey’s voice again. We are thankful to Mrs. Allen for the field trip to Angola, which is the only reason most of us took her business law class.

     However, we are most thankful to our parents who supported us and encouraged us throughout our schooling and without whom we would not be here today.

     In conclusion, graduation is a sad day. We are leaving everything we have known the last 12 years behind, but it is also a joyous day of celebration when we think of everything we have done in between. We will all look back on our time here and smile.

     Amy Wallace is the daughter of Cookie Wallace and the late Johnny Wallace.