The end of an era....

As I walked on to campus my first year, my mindset was the same as it was in the 5th; the young are invincible. And although I was excited to come to college I had many fears. Would the classes be too hard, would I make new friends, what could I become involved in, and most of all -- what if I get lost? All of these fears eventually subsided and I, along with all of you, found the right classes and the right teachers. Well... for the most part... hehehe.... Anyway, We all made new friends. We all got involved in something.

During my first year, innocence surrounded me and although eventually my shell would crack, not until this year have I broken through. This year I decided that it is time to soar on my own and to live life and not just let it pass me by. Graduation is the beginning of a new flight for all of us, the class of 2006-2010.

Confucius once said, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall."

We all start out as strangers, not knowing the next. We grew together... Lecture after Lecture, we went through it all, the boredom of the afternoon lectures, the excitement when the "Friday" arrives, our first "first I.Ts", our first "first semester exams", our first "university results" and it continued on until now... when we find ourselves passing through our last "first/second/third IT's", our last "university exams"... and no matter how much we may have fretted... today we think back and see that it was all worth it...

We've always been a very diverse group of people; we all have a broad range of interests and talents. Yet we all connected and those connections will last us a lifetime...

Every person I met through GEC had some impact on me, whether they became my best friend or whether we drifted apart. It quickly turned into my second home, well... almost... :-P

I loved the picnics, the politics not so much... :-P, the comfort and closeness of everyone and the freedom and trust the students were given.

There were those that made my life hell but for the most part, taught me how to live. You all taught me lessons that I will never forget.

This place has changed my life, and I will always remember every person that contributed to it.

And now as we take our next steps into the world, always remember to have faith in people, and to always have faith in yourself.