Dear Senior Class,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the beginning of your last year in high school. Many of you may be anxious about what awaits you in this upcoming school year. However, I can assure you that with determination and hard work; you will overcome the bumps in the road. Manhattan Center is a school with abundant resources that await your use. So be mindful that even though things may not always go according to plan, you have an entire school filled with resources waiting for you to call on them.
Do not forget what makes you important and what makes you unique from those around you because as you will soon find out, your senior year will challenge you in more ways than one. Therefore, it is crucial that you never forget that you are important and that you are unique. Do not allow trivial things to distract you from your goals and to hinder your success because who you are is not defined by the words or actions of those around you.
Senior year is the year to be at the top of your game, so don’t start slacking off now. Also, keep in mind that in the midst of the paperwork and mounting responsibilities, this year is meant to have fun-filled memories that will last forever. Fun is what you make it. Make work, fun. As strange as it may sound, work can be fun if you’re willing to make it fun.
There is no concrete way to survive your senior year in MCSM. I can only give you so much advice because this year is your experience. As an adviser once told me during my summer program at American University, “Be humble for your blessings and all the opportunities that lay before you. Be hungry for the knowledge and the life that awaits you. And be honest with yourself and with those around you.” Follow these words of advice and your time at MCSM will be a moment you will never forget.
Sincerely,
Someone Who Knows (Yamillet Payano)