Harlem Hosts Graduation

Harlem High School held its Commencement Exercises on May 18, graduating thirty-four seniors. Among that number, five will be playing college sports, and three have decided to join the military.

For their celebration on Sunday afternoon, the class was decked out in maroon, white, and black gowns and presented red roses to those individuals instrumental in guiding them to their graduation day. Valedictorian was Izabelle Baker, while Lacia Walls served as Salutatorian. Commencement speakers were Lyle and Kim Faulkinberry, who shared the task as co-speakers since both are retiring this year.

Baker's speech was a recap of the memories shared by the class from kindergarten through senior year. In reflecting on her speech, Baker stated: "I wanted to not only go back to relive certain teachers and funny moments but to look forward, so I alluded to the song 'Car Radio' by Twenty One Pilots. A person might not think of graduation with that song since someone steals the car's radio, causing the driver to sit in silence, but I used that as a metaphor for the idea of how we use distractions to avoid the truth or to ignore reality. My distraction was wrestling, but after state wrestling was over, I had to face reality: That I would be graduating and many of my safety nets would be gone and these moments would be lost to memory. Now, we realize how much we want [those times] back."

"Car Radio" is an introspective song that recalls an event lead singer Tyler Joseph experienced during college when his car radio was stolen. It led him to ponder where the mind takes people when all they are left with is silence. As the song suggests, "Sometimes quiet is violent" since unwelcome thoughts and emotions often intrude. But the song is also hopeful because it reveals the value in putting aside distraction, facing truth, and having faith: "Peace will win and fear will lose."

That message loosely coincides with the class motto by Eleanor Roosevelt: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." When we set aside fear and face truth, we potentially find beauty.

In her speech, Baker related, "It was the second week of February, the week of state wrestling; while getting dressed in the so-called locker rooms of the Metra after accomplishing my lifelong dream by taking 4th place, [I realized] that it was the last time I would do wrestling in high school. I started to cry. Taking off my singlet and crazy colored socks, I had to pause. . . .While in high school, I tried to use distractions to take my mind off the realization of what was coming to an end, and when that distraction was finally gone, I got to sit and think about everything. Thinking about the memories of our years and how much emotion it brings to not just me, but my classmates."

She closed by saying: "I encourage everyone to go out and continue their journey to make the stories longer. The memories last forever, but we all need to savor the moment and cherish the details. Just like the lyrics to the song. Take a minute to turn off all of the noise in life, sit in silence, and remember all of the memories attached to this day and cherish the achievements accomplished by those of us sitting here today."