Dear PV,

On Friday, June 2nd, 2023 my fellow seniors and I will be departing from Penns Valley High School in a commencement ceremony that we all refer to as graduation. The ceremony is being held on the main athletic field and is set to begin at 6:30 PM. The event is open to the public and students are encouraged to bring all of their loved ones as they walk across the stage. In the event of rainfall, the ceremony will be moved to Saturday, June 3rd and could potentially be held inside of Penns Valley’s recently remodeled auditorium.

As the date gets closer and closer, I am more and more on the edge of my seat. I am filled with concern but also excitement for what the future will hold. What am I going to do after graduation? Will I be okay? For many of us, this is the biggest change maybe even in our entire lives. We’ve spent the last fourteen or fifteen years walking within the school walls of Penns Valley and this will be the first time we get to make a one hundred percent free choice.

Personally, I am taking a different route than most. I will not be attending college after I graduate. It has been a little unsettling from time to time because not many people take the path less chosen but I am fully committing to following my instincts and my heart and doing something else. As the days have dwindled down, I’ve realized that school really isn’t my passion and I am not yet ready to tie myself down to an investment like college. Following graduation, I will be working from place to place as well as focusing on my small business, Gram Gram Cookies. I hope to take on a few more hobbies that could flourish into other successful businesses, as well. I am also interested in real estate and might take online classes to become a certified agent.

During my senior year, I became involved in so much more. In the first half of the year, I had all three of my last core classes and continued my marching band career. I had the opportunity to twirl fire on the field and the student section along with the crowd went ballistic! It was one of the greatest moments of my high school life. It was an extremely last minute decision and I only had two practices before I performed with the real thing. The feelings of accomplishment were incredible. Along with my continued love for being a majorette, I joined the Penns Valley Girls Soccer team. I was incredibly nervous because I hadn’t played soccer since fifth grade but it was truly one of the best decisions of my life. Once I successfully got over the nerves of the new environment, I began to become comfortable and really flourish in the JV games. By the end of the season, I was starting varsity and played most of our district championship win, the first ever in Penns Valley Girls Soccer history! Again, another amazing and unforgettable moment in my life. I enjoyed every second of it. I am finishing out the school year with only having a media class and an internship at Keystone Cultures. This is the best way I could have ended my school year.

I want to say thank you to all of my teachers for supporting me along the way. I could not have gotten to where I am without you all. A special thank you to Mr. Farley who will go down in history as my last teacher ever. I will always cherish the classes I took with him and the students within them. I always looked forward to coming in to say good morning to Mr. Farley and his classes never failed to brighten my day. Another special thank you goes to Joan Karp, the owner of Keystone Cultures. She has changed my life in every way possible. I am a happier, healthier, and truly a better person because of her. She is one of the most genuine, beautiful, caring, and smart women I know and I strive to follow in her footsteps. I am so thankful to have had such amazing influences in my life. I thought that I was fully prepared to leave this place but as time lessens and lessens, everything I was once a part of is slowly going away and I will miss the memories I made here. I have changed so much throughout the years and I feel as though I have really been able to find myself, especially in these last few months. One thing I would like to leave you with is a quote by Jane Marczewski that I have lived by for quite some time now. “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore to be happy.” You have to find the good things in every moment because there will always be something that is upsetting or difficult. Find the good in yourselves and bring it to the surface. Be who you are in the best way possible. In the end, loving yourself and spreading that to other people is the most important thing. Through it all, Penns Valley is a part of me now and forever.

Goodbye Penns Valley.

Love,

Paige Musser