Although the Class of 2011 hasn't actually graduated--there's still time to turn in your NJROTC leadership paper--the days are rapidly dwindling to nothingness and this might be a good time to say a few words of farewell.
When you are a new freshman, high school seems as if it will last forever. You know now that it does not. Although I always downplay graduation, it is of course a major life event. By graduating from high school and reaching your 18th birthday, you will be recognized as adults. Reaching the age of 18 is a legal requirement and graduating from high school is a social expectation; what you make of it and whether people really treat you as an adult is largely up to you. Here's my simple advise, much of which you have heard before. First, act like an adult. Whatever your driver's license says, if you act like a kid you will be treated like one. If you act like an adult and insist on being treated as one, you will be. Ask anyone who has done this and they will tell you it takes time and effort to get it right. Second, recognize that all adults are not equal. Where you end up in the pecking order is mostly up to you. If you keep yourself focused on the values and principles you have developed and work toward long-range goals, you will almost certainly be happier than if you bounce from one short-range goal to another without any real context to against which to measure your success. As Shakespeare said, "To thine own self be true." Third, don't sell yourself short. Real accomplishment takes time, involves risk, and you will almost surely stumble along the way. Don't equate a set-back with failure. To quote Marcus Aurelius, "Take not counsel of your fears." Finally, take heart. Have some confidence in yourself. Master Sergeant and I have seen each of you grow tremendously over the past four years and expect great things from you in the future.
Keep in touch, visit when you can, remember your time in NJROTC, and know that we are proud of you.
Fair winds and Following Seas.
CDR Wall
