Learn to Have Confidence in the Uncertainty

 

I do appear confident. I speak of the future like I am not afraid of it.

 

But I’ve been there. I’ve been afraid of what my future holds. I’ve been frozen by the “what if’s” and I still am sometimes. I still worry and wonder if the future will ever be as good as the present.

 

 When I first came to Stanstead in Grade 8, I was afraid of everything: the friendships, the language, the hockey. I walked in wearing a mask of confidence, but underneath, it wasn’t certainty, it was mostly self-belief. I believed that I could adapt, that I could handle challenges, and that I belonged at the school.

 

The belief is what carried me forward.

 

Here I am today, finishing Grade 12 at the school, surrounded with friendships that will last a lifetime and standing on the edge of a new chapter.

 

Next year, my whole life will be moving to the State of Wisconsin, 16 hours away from my hometown.  It’s not just a change of school, it’s a change of environment, of routine, of people. I’ll be learning to navigate a new campus I’ve never lived on and discovering what life is like away from home for the first time.

 

When I first step in my dorm, my classes, my locker room, I am going to feel like that Grade 8 kid again. I’ll be back at zero. And in that moment, I’ll choose to believe again. Believe that this place is where I belong.

 

It used to scare me, but now I realize that it’s the exciting part. How boring would life be if we knew our destiny? The future is exciting because it isn’t about certainty, it’s about stepping into something new, with confidence, and stepping into a version of yourself you haven’t met yet. Often, we hold onto our past because it’s safe. But holding too tightly to what was can keep us from fully stepping into what’s next.

 

So as we all stand here, dear graduating class of 2026 and the ones who will follow, I hope we can find the courage to let go and the strength to be uncertain. Our next chapter is waiting, and I am confident we are going to like the person we become there.

 

Next year, I’ll be in Wisconsin, still wearing red and white, moving forward into something new while still carrying the experiences that shaped me.