Mansfield High School - Hornet / Green Years Yearbook (Mansfield, MA)

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VALEDICTORIAN - ALAN TUPAJ oad ee Ladies and gentlemen of the school committee, Mr. Barbarisi, Mr. Rosa, Ms. Flaherty, faculty members, parents, relatives, and friends, it is with great pleasure that we welcome you to today’s commencement and thank you for everything you have done to make this day possible. I would like to address my comments, however, to a very special group of young men and women, a group that I am proud to be a member of. I am speaking of you, the Class of 1987, and I congratulate you on your accomplishment. For the past few weeks, I’ve been picking up my pen each night and trying to write a speech. I came up with all of these grand philosophical concepts, tried to use these long, impressive words; I tried to be intellectual. Yet, I repeatedly failed to write what I wanted to say. Naturally, I became frustrated and disturbed. Then I started to think, an action that can often lead to some unpleasant discoveries. I found that I was afraid, afraid of not being able to write a speech that would live up to the expectations of others. It seemed as if it wasn’t myself writing, but someone whose only concern was to impress his family, his teachers, and his peers. I began to wonder whether other people experience this same frustration. Maybe other people, at times, want to open up and express their inner thoughts and feelings, but can’t, for fear of not conforming to what others think; for fear of not being accepted. I suppose that’s what I want to talk about today; our need to open up, our need to break down those walls which we hide behind, our need to be ourselves. Look around you. In a few short minutes each of us will go his or her way. Last Thursday, at our Senior Banquet, we were dancing with each other, hug- ging each other, telling each other in special ways how much we care. And, more of the same will take place today. But, I ask you, why must we wait until we separate to show our feelings for one another? What prevents us from expressing our emotions in our everyday lives? Why waste the little time we have hiding behind insincere masks which merely reflect what we think others want to see? Think about your closest friends. Do you truly know what they feel, what they believe in, who they really are? And, perhaps more importantly, do they truly know who you are? Others can never know the genuine inside unless you allow them to. Someone must take the first step if these fears are to be overcome, if some sincerity is to be achieved. Weall like to hear that we are loved. We all need to hear that we are loved. We all need to know that we are worth something to somebody. Don’t assume that the ones you love know that you love them. Tell them. A kind word, a friendly hug, sending flowers for no reason; such simple things can communicate love. Such simple things are badly needed. As we leave the protective environments of our homes and our school, I urge each of you to start out, in your new surroundings, as the real you. Strive to build the inner strength and self-confidence you need to believe in yourself and to express your feelings for others. Hold on to your values and don’t compromise. Release yourself from the fear of what others may think. You need not go out and find yourself. The real you is already inside. Instead, you must lose the fears which surround it. Ridding ourselves of our fears, however, is by no means an easy task. I believe this process begins with the loss of our pride, with a denial of our self-im- portance that will allow us to seek the help of others. Only after humbling ourselves can we hope to arrive back at our childlike spontaneity and imagination; back at the qualities which once allowed us to enjoy and to wonder at the simpler things; allowed us to express love without fear. I feel that it is this loss of pride, this loss of concern for what others may think, that the Bible refers to through the passage that states: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt. 10.39) Finally, I would like to conclude by putting to practice some of what I have just shared with you. Mom, Dad, I love you both very much. And, were it not for your love and guidance over the past eighteen years, I know that I would not be standing here today. Thank you.

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PRINCIPAL ROSA’S GRADUATION REMARKS e emai =p ennai Neo StseninneniaiaNieeemgnnees Superintendent Barbarisi, Members of the School Committee, Reverend Clergy, Members of the Faculty, Parents, Relatives and Friends of the Graduates, and most importantly, Graduates of the Class of 1987. Having successfully completed all academic requirements, the 162 young men and women seated on this stage have attained a part of the American dream by earning a high school diploma. Today, they officially become members of the 1987 graduating Class of Mansfield High School and, because of this attainment, they should feel quite proud! Although they now are together as one, almost as soon as today’s ceremony ends, each graduate will begin to go off in his own or her own direction. But, because of what occurs here today, these 162 people will always be held together by a common bond; which is of couse, that they are classmates and members of the Class of 1987. Because of their fine behavior and level of academic accomplishment over the past four years, this class is held in high esteem by the faculty. Although deserving of all the praise accorded them, these graduates must realize that because of their vast potential, much is expected of them. Whether going on to a post-secondary school, and the list of colleges and universities is most impressive, going into the world of work, or entering the armed forces, the stamp of the Class of 1987 is upon them and continued excellence is expected. Graduates, I implore you to dedicate yourself to excellence, because although such dedication may require much hard work, it brings a high degree of satisfaction and fulfillment. Regardless of what you decide to do with your life, carry with you the words of the noted educator and former president of Harvard University, James Bryant Conant, who said: “Fach honest calling, each walk of life has its own elite - its own aristocracy, and it is based on excellence of performance.” Id like to close by congratulating the parents of the graduates for the support and encouragement they’ve provided during the past twelve years. And to the graduates I give my fondest wishes for success, and hope you will always have pleasant memories of Mansfield High School. Thank you. (

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SALUTATORIAN WEDNESDAY MCMILLAN ah Our creation of an era of raging fads, grotesque wealth, and violent competition shows clearly our transience and our instability. In our quest for a life purpose we allow society to whirl us from one diversion to the next until, obsessed with enjoyng ourselves, we cease to realize that still we are founded upon nothing. We forget that society cannot ever give us a sure purpose; indeed, today’s ephemeral trends and attitudes show that society is merely the outward manifestation of all our inner doubts and insecurities. Turning to the world for a purpose, then, amounts to no more than placing trust in our own weaknesses and coarse desires. Parents, teachers, and guests, welcome to the graduation of the class of 1987. Though we do find brief happiness in living according to whim and popular fashion, we find lasting joy only in living by the universal constants upheld by a philosophy, a creed, or a religion. Free from our human weaknesses, these higher laws provide a solid, unchanging base upon which we can base our selves and our lives. We recognize that these principles represent an ideal “us” and we make our every action and thought bring us closer to that ideal. We let everything we do help us to fulfill the tenets of our faith. And when we acknowledge that lasting joy in life comes only from living out a faith, we see that true living is not a continuous following of whim to a superficial physical goal, but a constant striving to an enduring external one; and we see that greatness comes not from the amassing of wealth or the acquisition of fame, but from the quiet fulfilling of beliefs. We discover success when another watches us act or hears us speak and knows beyond a doubt our values and our deep trust in them. And so I call not only my fellow graduates but you, our parents, teachers, and guests as well, to commit yourselves--to honesty or to charity, to one virtue or to many--so that you will be remembered both fondly and well. Let your lives stand for something more than the indulgence of every passing want. Believe that you are too important to be merely generic members of a moody, restless crowd. Believe that you are of great value, worthy of your own love and respect. Seek your happiness not in the turbulence of the world, but in the constancy of the spirit.