Day Zero

The following is the commencement address I delivered as salutatorian for my high school graduation ceremony in 2021. I will soon graduate college and was reminded of this piece.

Good morning! I am deeply humbled to be standing up here and to welcome everyone to Archbishop Mitty’s 54th Commencement Ceremony. This morning brings us to reflect on the memorable moments of the past four years, and signifies our jump into our next adventures. It has been 1386 days since freshman orientation, inclusive of those weekends and B-week days off that we cherished and got us through the weeks. It has truly been a while.

To begin, I would like to thank everyone here. The Class of 2021 is incredibly lucky to have been surrounded by such kind, inspiring, supportive, and motivating individuals.

First and foremost, thank you to all the parents. We appreciate all that you have done, and admittedly put up with, these past 18 years. From the irregular sleep schedules and constant need for food, we are thankful for your endless support around the clock. I know I could not have done it without you, mom and dad. To our siblings, we are thankful that you were there with us through this journey, being an ever present companion who we can annoy and have fun with. I’d also like to thank the Mitty community, teachers, faculty, staff, for putting immense effort into making ourselves the best that we can be, inside the classroom or on a field. You have created the ultimate learning environment. One that is marked by scholarship, care, and excitement. Without all of you, we would not have been able to make it here in one piece.

Most significantly, I would like to thank the Class of 2021. I am very lucky to have called myself a senior this past year. Our class has developed from the awkwardness that is freshman year to the communal, united cheers of our Junior Monarch Madness. This past year, we even made it through a pandemic together, changing with the times to keep moving forward. I fondly remember my first day back after quarantine, meeting everyone and playing spikeball/pickleball — it was a blast. Our class epitomizes resilience, unity, brilliance, and ultimately excellence — characteristics that stick beyond 2021.

At first, I thought commencement was a ceremony to celebrate the past four years, a finishing line some might say. I could not have been more wrong. I feel like I should’ve realized this from Spanish class — “comenzar” meaning to begin. Commencement is a start, not an end. We are here to collectively dive into the next steps: college and beyond. We are here to commence the next part of our life, something I’ve come to view as a Day Zero Concept. Let me explain.

These past 18 years have neatly stacked on top of each other, building us up to who we are. We have each followed a path to be right here, right now. Taking a look back down memory lane, there have been numerous transition points. Day 1825 on the planet: kindergarten. Sure we learned the alphabet and some basic math, but the things we really needed to take with us was the lesson of sharing and how to tie our shoes. Moving into elementary and middle school, things got slightly harder and amply more fun. Maybe you won your first trophy? We were put in new social environments and began to explore our interests wherever they found us, the slightest taste of independence. That supposedly prepared us for Day 5110: high school. The past four years have gone by so incredibly fast. We found our places, from a sports team, to a club, to a base community, to a friend group. We even got driver's licenses. Admittedly some may have taken more attempts.

What I am getting at is that there has been a very neat gradual transition, a controlled rhythm from one step to the next. But, this one is different.

This commencement is a true new beginning, a Day Zero. We are at a point to restart, reboot, recreate, reinvent. It should feel refreshing. No more labels. Whether you were the roboticist (me!), the athlete, the musician, the debater, you are going forward with a blank slate. You are free to explore whatever you’d like with a newfound degree of independence. Much is going to be left in the past — those dates you memorized for history, those equations, even those trophies left to collect dust on a shelf. You have two assets to take with you: knowledge and memories. We have learned a lot, not just in textbooks but from our experiences and those lessons are going to be critical to navigating this next adventure. Sadly, most of us will be parted from friends and family, the places we grew up, the places we call home. However, they stay with us through memories and I am sure there are many more to be made.

Our future is bright, so bright we can’t clearly see it. Our college experiences are bound to open our minds, whether it be exploring new places or vibing with new people. Nothing is set. Everything is malleable. Without a concrete needle pointing our way, we are left to find our path using purely our intuition. This sounds daunting, but somewhere in our passions and curiosity, we know what we want to do. Deep down, we each have a compass that will guide us. We need to trust in it. We are going to figure it out — all is going to be well, especially if we hold close to those two gifts: knowledge and memories that can’t be taken away.

That’s my take on commencement. Class of 2021, welcome to a new Day Zero. Thank you.