To the Class of 2020: “You Already Know How to Embrace Change”

The following is a graduation message composed by Bay Village Council Representative Lydia DeGeorge. It eloquently captures the challenges, disappointments and hopes being faced by 2020 graduates everywhere.

Dear Class of 2020,

The end of your high school days carried choices and expectations that were damned.

Abandoned were the echoes of academic hallways and the pulse of extracurricular activities. Rhythmic milestone celebrations were not to be.

The swift disappearance of what you loved, or loved to hate, created personal struggles the likes of which no other recent graduating class could have imagined. When the school doors closed behind you and you stepped into quarantine, it seemed your plans slammed shut too. The bully pulled the chair out from under you. The shocked sensations you felt were stifling and heightened in the same instant. It took a moment but you shook it off, you proved you could conquer disruption, you took on the unknown.

This is the first time in life you will decide how you want to create your future. COVID19 didn’t just affect your last months of school, it has been a game changer for job and career paths. The virus exposes that it is not the college or the path you choose, it is a fierce work ethic that is of greatest value to you, your family, and your fellow citizens.

The jobs many said they never wanted to do emerged to be the very work everyone relied upon, everyone needed. While you carefully and wisely decide what dreams you want to fulfill, know that your community takes pride in your contribution, we take pride in calling you our own. Know that all work has value.

Stop comparing yourself to others. Set and pursue your own goals. Never stop reinventing. Never stop raising your washed hands to ask questions or to help answer. Share, live loudly and tell us what you need. Some will say don’t look back, put this behind you, look ahead.

I say remember this abrupt time, take it with you as you journey through all that is unexpected. It will remind you that you already know how to embrace change, look it in the eye, create anew, keep going and do what you once thought impossible. It will remind you we only lost what we took for granted. It will remind you that everyday is your chance.

I do not know what your coming days will hold, but I do know that if you decide you need Bay Village, we are here for you.

-Lydia DeGeorge, Ward 2 City Councilwoman