An open letter to the Class of 2023
To the Class of 2023,
They say that when we are born, we are a blank canvas and it is those to whom we are born who paint the first strokes upon us; they add the colour, the creativity, the confidence, and the criticism. This is true.
As the piece evolves over time, there exists many contributors to it; both good and bad.
There are those who pass judgement, those who creatively collaborate, those who give careful and constructive advice, those who poke holes, those who turn away from it, and those who lack faith in its completion.
They say that as we grow, education suffocates the creativity added to the canvas, attempting to make it a collective print of uniformity with identical patterns, produced en masse, lacking individuality, and possessing no clear contention.
It is my belief that the education you have had, at the School your parents chose for you, celebrated your uniqueness, validated your identity, and painted bright and beautiful colours on your canvas that have helped you on your journey to reach your potential, to find your passion, and to know your purpose.
The educators at your school, momentary artists, added richly to your canvas, contributing their thought, their wisdom, their life experience, and their care.
A masterpiece is considered the greatest work in a person's career, something of outstanding quality.
At your school, we are so grateful for having been able to contribute to the creation of your character, to have helped craft the canvas that is you, and to have shared in the creation of that masterpiece.
So as you begin to paint the strokes on the canvas yourself, as you take your first solitary steps into your examinations next week, know that the colour that is you, the uniqueness of you, the qualities and the values that we etched on you, have prepared you for this moment, and have completed this part of the canvas.
Thank you for letting us share in the evolution of you, for letting us paint strokes of strength, and of scholarship, strokes that we know, will one day have contributed to a magnificent masterpiece.
Yours faithfully,
Lucy M. Gowdie