Somewhere between now and then, years turned to months, months turned to hours, and hours turned to minutes. I only have minutes remaining…

All I ever wanted was to grow up. To be just a little bit older, just a little bit taller, or just a little bit bigger. I’ve dreamt of what this time would look like, who I’d be, what I’d become, and now that I’m here, I can only see her. The little girl with the baby blue eyes and the little blonde pigtails with big red bows. Suddenly, now that I’m here…I really wish I wasn’t.

I’m a tassel away from the beginning of my life. Moments away from the chapter that never ends. I’m not ready to leave. When they tell you that you’re ready, you believe them because you are equipped, you are capable, and you are excited. Graduation is a celebration of achievement, a recognition of unwavering dedication to academic, athletic, and extracurricular commitments. You celebrate because you made it, no more stress, tests, projects, and homework. You’ve learned all there is to know. So, why is it so hard? I’ve realized it’s because they don’t teach you how to say goodbye in high school.

Five years ago, I stepped into the golden halls of Rosary for the first time. Little did I know just how much of an impact this school would have on my life. Moving schools is a huge adjustment for most, it’s never easy, and the transition always takes time. With Rosary, it took days. I went from having no sister in my life to having 500 of them. I knew this was exactly where I was meant to be.

Then, a global pandemic hit. This meant the first half of my Rosary experience was really just a big mess of virtual confusion and chaos. Sophomore year was a blur that consisted of Zoom and cohorts, Red and Gold: The Movie, and one math teacher that quit before she ever learned that my name was Brynn and not in fact Bryan. Safe to say that I missed out on so much.        `

Junior year was the best year of my life. The world felt normal, all was well. Only, everything had changed. It was as if the pandemic was truly the best thing that could have happened to us. When you understand what it is like to have something so special missing in your life, you will do anything to get it back. The Class of 2023 lost time. We had no choice but to make every moment spent together count. This is what makes us so special. We scream because we can, we dance because it’s fun, we hug because we love each other, and we talk way more than we should because there was a time when we couldn’t talk at all.

Rosary Day finally arrived, and it was almost perfect, but the torrential downpour had other plans. Our ceremony took place in the gym, which was absolutely awful but so fitting. It has always been our class against the world, so to have our ring day be small and intimate was yet another reminder of our unique experience.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. I had just one Red and Gold. It felt like A Grand Illusion that happened in the Blink of an Eye. It was One in a Million, it was a Magic Moment, and it was Golden. I promise, I’m done now.

Then, I was painting cars, applying to college, and beginning my time as a senior in high school. August became September, then faded to December. January became March, and after plenty of days of missing school, it was eventually May. How is this even real?

I’ve experienced it all. So, why don’t I feel ready? I suppose it’s because I know there is a chapter of my Rosary story that will remain unwritten, moments and memories that will forever be locked in some parallel universe. I’ve always wondered what it would’ve been like to have had the full experience… I wish I could have had it all. Yet, through all the uncertainty, the Academy was always there. It was a source of consistency in an inconsistent time.

So, to the school that built me… Thank you for being there as I grew up. Thank you for giving me the strength and perseverance to always keep going. I’ve learned from you that when you love something so much, no one can ever tear you away. Passion alone has gotten me to where I am today, against every opinion, against every action, against everyone, and against everything. I have a voice I can use, and actions that will always speak when words can’t.

After four years of alternating between Barclay and Bevins, I sure know how to argue and write. After history courses with Langenwalter, Evans, Ward, and LeClair, I am educated and ready to begin changing the world. Mrs. Hunt taught me everything I need to know about science and a little about how far a good joke can take you. Then, of course Mr. O’Campo taught me that I hate triangles, and Mr. Amazing (Mr. Clough) taught me just about everything I could ever need to know right inside of the “mighty mighty 112.” Then, Rosales, D’Alba, Flati, Kearnsie helped me deepen my faith. The list goes on and on because my teachers have always inspired me to be more than just an A student in their class, they’ve empowered me to become the young woman I am today.

Walking away from this place has proven to be so bittersweet because Rosary didn’t just teach me how to be a student, it taught me how to be a good person. I know exactly who I am and what I stand for, and I know exactly where I am headed in life. Thank you for taking morality and making it my character. It is because of you that I have every opportunity lying before me and because of you that my future is so much brighter than I could have ever imagined.

Oh, how I will miss being a Rosary student, but I will always be a Rosary girl. Here’s to messy buns, crazy socks, and glutinous potlucks, forever and ever.

Goodbye.

XOXO,

Brynn Beauchamp ’23