“Hi, my name is Marianne Bradley”. . . that was a prompt Katherine Fangman received in Creative Writing class.  She could’ve written a story about anything, but Katherine ended up writing something for all the Seniors of 2020.  Enjoy!

“Hi, my name is Marianne Bradley, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to speak in front of my class, the NDA class of 2020.” Her start was strong. The audience could tell that she truly meant what she was saying in this speech. She continued, “Throughout the last four years each one of you has made an impact on my life in one way or another. We are that class that NDA will remember forever. We will be remembered for the many different talents throughout this class.” Then she paused for a few moments. It’s almost like she forgot what she was going to say next. 

Then she continued, “But we will be remembered mostly for how well we dealt with the challenges thrown at us. The coronavirus pandemic is something nothing any of us ever thought would happen. We did not get to spend the last few months together as a class, have prom, have senior send off, wear our future college shirts to school, have our last spring week, and many other things you look forward to as a senior. I do know for a fact that each of us accepted this challenge, and in the end we came out stronger.” Marianne Bradley paused again. 

She proceeded, “We came out stronger emotionally and mentally. Many of you probably felt like you did not get the senior year you deserved. This probably caused sadness, but look now, we overcame this challenge thrown at us. We are sitting here on the football field at NDA one last time together. Look around and pat each other on the back.” She paused. All the seniors were looking around at each other. 

“Congratulations my fellow classmates. We did it. We are strong but stronger together. Never forget the challenges you guys were able to overcome together. We got through COVID-19 because of each other and our teachers. Go out into the world and remember your roots at NDA. Remember that you are loved, and you are strong. Go out into the world and never settle. Go achieve greatness, my friends. I can not wait to see where the future takes each of us. Congratulations all.”