What a difference a year makes.

The Cassopolis High School Class of 2015 graduated under cloudy skies and temperatures only in the 50s. It was a stark contrast to last year’s graduation where temperatures soared near 90.

But for the 83 graduates, the confines of Ross Beatty Jr./Sr. High School’s packed gymnasium were warm and comfortable as family and friends looked.

Olivia Hertsel welcomed everyone to the 136th commencement ceremony and Kayley Gay delivered the reflective speech.

Tabitha Hart, leader of the Class of 2015, recalled her first day as a fifth-grader at Sam Adams Elementary. She and her family had just moved to Michigan.

“Just referencing the memory makes my stomach drop,” she said. “I can still picture myself pacing on the sidewalk in front of my house. The bus route had a turn around right before my stop. The bus passed my stop and my heart stopped beating. My parents had already left for work and I had no other way to get to school. I was convinced I was going to miss my first day at my new school. My eyes nearly filled with tears and the rush of relief was nearly painful when the bus pulled up to the neighbor’s house. I looked over the bus and it hit me: I’d been so worried about the bus remembering to pick me up that I had forgotten to plan where I was going to sit.

“My 11 years on this Earth and five years of public schooling had taught me that where you sit on the school bus is a crucial part of the pecking order and must be planned as strategically as landing a plane. Sitting in the back with the high school kids could go unnoticed or possibly could paint a target on my forehead, while sitting in the middle could make me seem like a loner. I had been standing in the front of the bus for what felt like hours. The little kids were staring at me through sleepy eyes and the bus driver had her eyebrow raised. I quickly sat in the closest seat next to me; directly behind the bus driver beside a kindergartener.”

Now, seven years later, Hart realizes that her decision that day mean little to her future in Cassopolis.

“Nobody actually even cared where I sat on the bus,” she said. “Eleven-year-old Tabatha would be very frustrated upon learning this information. Because, not only did I analyze the situation with painful consideration, but I can remember every morning of those three days, hating the loud and hyperactive kids on the bus ride to school. As I recall the situation, I cannot remember why I waited so long to stop sitting by that over-energetic little girl. Maybe because she was a nice girl who was just excited to be friends with an older girl, or maybe because I was too afraid to try something new after I had already set a routine for myself. But it doesn’t matter why I waited; the point of this story is I should not have repeatedly placed myself in a situation that I knowingly hated.”

Hart concluded her speech by telling her classmates to stop waiting.

“We’ve spent the last 13 years waiting,” she said. “A lot of us dread every Monday and spend the rest of the week waiting for Friday. Every fall, we dread winter and spend spring waiting for summer. So with this new chapter in our lives, when looking for your place in this world, find a place where Monday is no different than Friday; a place where you enjoy winter as much as you do summer, and build your own routine. Because, while we’ve spent the last 13 years waiting for Friday and summer; we’ve missed so much in between. So, please, if you don’t listen to anything else I’ve talked about today, listen to this: stop waiting.

“Who’s going to stop you, and if someone tries, who knows what’s best for you better than you do? We’re finally in a position to decide what to do for ourselves and when we do it. So, why not now? Because, when it comes down to it, isn’t 13-years of waiting long enough?”

Jacob Roth, another member of the Top 10 for the Class of 2015, introduced 1959 Cassopolis graduate and former mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer, who was the guest speaker.

Prior to the awarding of diplomas by principal Dave VanLue and Matthew Brawley, dean of students, it was announced that the Class of 2014 has received more than $675,000 in scholarships.

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