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I am elated to officially announce tonight that my sweet baby boy is
VALEDICTORIAN of North Davidson High School's Class of 2014.
Carson, For all the times that your friends were having fun, and you were at home alone, studying...
THIS IS YOUR DAY!
You have achieved every goal you have ever set for yourself.
You have only and always brought great joy to our home.
You have made it to the top of your mountain.
Since the first year they started giving letter grades (3rd grade), you weren't satisfied with any report card that didn't reflect all 100's... in fact, you were crushed. So you set out to always reach 100, and you achieved All A's.
Seven years ago this week, your fifth grade principal, Angie Kiger, gave you "The Principal's Award," at 5th grade Graduation. And on that day... I wondered if you could keep up the pace.
You wanted a Black Belt after the first karate class in 2nd Grade. By 8th grade, you were an adult Black Belt with Bill Daniels.
At eighth grade graduation, they named you the top math student, and I knew you were on to something... but could you continue the pace when you hit the AP classes?
High School Engineering courses kicked you into looking to the future and you knew you had found your true love. Math became your best friend and you won the school's AMC! With all that love of math, it only made sense that you would attend NC Governor's School for math.
In the midst of all that academic rigor, you followed your heart and started every July and August's gut-wrenching, hot drilling season, to earn your spot as a BOY OF FALL. A true BLACK KNIGHT! And you ended your junior season a member of the CPC Championship Football Team and runners up to the State Championship game. It gave me great pride to watch you play with all your heart for your community on Football Friday Knights!
As that awesome junior year ended, you were named Chief Junior Marshal.
You loved Cub Scouts at Midway Methodist, and campouts and Boy Scouts in Welcome, hundreds of service hours, and I KNOW you loved all those hot camp weeks at Cherokee and all across this great state... and as the calendar moved swiftly towards your senior year, you knew you had to crest that final mountain and become an Eagle. And again, with great pride, we watched that happen last fall.
Last month you were recognized as an AP Scholar with Distinction, the highest level. And we figured out you are on track to enter NC State with potentially FORTY AP credit hours.
By senior year, your class respected you enough to name you their 2014 Senior Class President and Most Likely to Succeed. Can't wait to watch you fly after being named a Park Scholar at NC State University, and by the way... thanks, Carson, for covering your cost for your four year education!
And finally, as you have reached the end of your high school career... you have been named Valedictorian.
Of course, as a proud mom, I had to relive all of your accomplishments above, which I'm sure will embarrass you... (I don't care).
But the most important thing I want to mention, amidst ALL of your accomplishments, is this title:
God's child.
A young man after God's own heart. A young man with a heart of gold.
A young man whose parents, siblings and grandparents are very proud to call our own. And baby boy, we are so proud to watch you fly!
Joshua 1:7-9 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 105:4 “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
by Dr. Seuss
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.
I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
