I cannot begin to express my pride and gratitude towards the class of 2022. Seeing each of you, your aspirations, your determination, and your passions grow over the years has been a sincere honor. From providing unsolicited advice about why you should all be using exponentials and logarithms to run calculations on loans and investments in Algebra 2 to making you skeptical of every percentage reported in the news in Statistics, I want to thank you for all you did to make my introduction to LMHS a phenomenal experience.
If you’ll allow me, I want to offer one last piece of advice that changed my perspective on life. Albert Einstein, the second greatest mathematician born on Pi-Day, once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Never stop asking questions, never stop challenging norms, and never stop seeking answers to the mysteries of this world and your life.
Your way of thinking is like a building. If the foundation is flawed, built on a bedrock of assumptions and unchallenged notions, the building is doomed to eventually crumble. The first principle of Deductive Reasoning, according to Rene Descartes, is to assume nothing, and to build up your understanding from nothing but certainties and proven ideas. The systems, methodologies, and conventions that dictate the way the world operates have all been designed for a specific reason. Seek out these reasons. If these reasons seem logical and work towards the kind of world you want to live in, wonderful; if you find a flaw, it is your responsibility to amend it. Never assume the current status of our world is the best of all possible outcomes. If we continue to question, seek out the true reason behind everything, and avoid these assumptions, then this random sample we call life will surely be significant .
The scariest and most exhilarating part of this next phase of life is that you are responsible for its outcome now; every success, failure, accomplishment, and struggle is now your burden to bear. You have the Power to reject certain conventions, but only when you find sufficient evidence to do so. This is by no means an easy task, which is why you will all need each other. With more people sharing this goal comes less division and deviation, which in turn leads to an easier chance of achieving significance.
In summary, thank you all for everything you have taught me and for challenging me to become a better educator and mentor. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in all of your future endeavors no matter where they may take you.
