You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone—any person or any force—dampen, dim or diminish your light. Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don’t be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.  -John Lewis

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves. -Pema Chodron

“In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.” —Barack Obama

Watch: President Obama’s “Dear Class of 2020” Message

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. -Anne Frank

Albert and Aidan Sykes

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”  -Marcus Aurelius

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man’s-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again.  – Pema Chodron

Congratulations, Class of 2020!