Chartiers Valley Class of ’23 graduates with sense of optimism

Optimism abounds at high school graduations, as each year’s seniors look forward to receiving their diplomas while well-wishing family members and friends prepare to applaud.

For those attending Chartiers Valley High School’s May 31 commencement, speeches by three particularly eloquent members of the Class of 2023 buoyed the overall sense of hopefulness with combinations of celebrating the past and providing guidance for the future.

Joining Brandon Gallo, class president, in delivering insightful commentary were soon-to-be graduates Derek Armfield and Caitlin Dinco.

With apparently characteristic flourishes of humor, Gallo explored a general theme of staying true to oneself.

“As you know, I’ve always thought you’re better off being viewed as crazy and happy than sane and anything else,” he said. “Being somebody you aren’t is exhausting, and taking things too seriously places an unbearable weight upon you.”

Taking that into consideration, he suggested to his classmates:

“Take a chance on doing what you love. Sometimes you will fail. That’s temporary. Regret is permanent.”

With further regard to permanence, he addressed the substance of a person’s impact on others.

“To me, legacy is not a number in a bank account. It is not where you live or the clothes you wear. It’s the people you meet and the relationships you create,” he said. “Legacy is how you choose to act. It’s not what you’ve said or what you’ve done, but rather how you made people feel.”

He offered perspective, from a young adult’s point of view, on the world’s imperfections.

“I know that life can seem senseless and unfair at times, but in my extremely limited life experience, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason,” Gallo said. “Or it just helps to look at it that way.”

With that, he gave three bits of advice:

“Do something that you’re proud of and that you love. Display kindness and compassion. And have some fun.”

‘Why not us?’

Leading up to graduation, Class of 2023 members read letters they wrote as fifth-graders to their future selves.

“While I’m sure we all appreciated remembering that our favorite color was orange or that time in soccer class where we scored, I thought the part about our dreams of becoming professional baseball players, astronauts, doctors and Broadway stars was interesting,” Armfield said in his commencement address.

“When we were young, we dreamed big, with aspirations which would take years of work, energy, dedication and consistency. However, we didn’t let those things scare us from believing we could truly do it.”

The passage of time, though, tends to dim lofty goals.

“Now, some might say that’s just the smart thing to do or even just the way things are supposed to be,” Armfield said. “Perhaps when we are young, we just don’t understand enough about the world or life to really dream about how we want to live. But maybe that’s not quite right.

“I think it’s important to believe that we are capable of anything, to believe that we can learn nearly any concept or achieve nearly any task at any level of performance, regardless of the difficulty or how many people have tried before and failed,” he continued. “Whether we are actually able to do these things, however, is irrelevant. If you never believe you can, then you never will.”

In his opinion, with belief comes the chance for fulfillment.

“At the end of the day, someone will do what you’ve always dreamed of doing. If somebody has to do it, why not you? Why not me? Why not us?” Armfield said. “Yeah, it won’t be easy. But that’s not the point. It’s a dream. It’s not supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to be impossible.

“Yet through extreme commitment, constant attention and unwavering discipline, we will turn the impossible possible.”

‘We grew together’

For her turn at inspiring classmates — and commencement audience members, for that matter — Dinco posed the questions: “Do you like the person you’ve become? Do you have regrets? Do you wish you could go back?

“If you do, that’s OK,” she said. “It’s OK because you can only grow from owning your mistakes.”

Plenty of them happen during high school, she acknowledged, but they can serve as key learning experiences.

“Our school taught us to become the best version of ourselves. Our years of growth and education, as within ourselves, developed us into so much more good than bad,” Dinco said. “This school made us grow, but we did not grow alone. We grew together.”

She advised that her classmates adopt a practical outlook in life.

“Not everything is in your control. You can’t help everyone. You can’t save everyone. And you can’t make everyone happy,” she said. “But that’s OK. You can do this: Follow your dreams. Give love to the people in your life. And let yourself be happy.”

To view the Chartiers Valley High School Class of 2023 commencement, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkhaoXXHnc.