My senior year of high school, I was told I had been nominated to prepare and give a speech at the graduation ceremony that would be taking place in May. I had no idea what to write about that could include memories of the last four years and the future of all of my fellow classmates. As weeks went on, instead of working on my speech, I decided to make a custom graduation dress full of handsewn patches that represented me and my highschool experience. 

On this dress, I sewed “FFA.” I created a patch for NHS and the musical Wizard of Oz I participated in. I sewed a “4.0” patch alongside a pencil and a grad cap, as well as a lyric from my all time favorite artist, Noah Kahan, that says “You’re Gonna Go Far.” This dress encompassed parts of me, my time in high school and memories I will take with me for the rest of my life. 

However, I wasn’t the only one with my own set of patches. Maybe physically, but each and every one of my classmates who would be walking the stage had their own set of patches that looked completely different from mine. 

Just like my graduation dress, we all have our own set of patches that make us unique. Some of our patches are bright and celebratory of the days we felt on top of the world from winning a speaking competition or being surprised by our score when logging into the judging card. Others are marked with tougher fabric that represents not placing the way we had hoped or not getting the officer position we applied for. Remember these years in the blue jacket are shaping us and the patches we will take with us for the rest of our lives. No one will have the same set of patches that you can bring to the table. Be uniquely yourself, and carry your patches with pride.