[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10249-10250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   GRADUATION ADDRESS OF MIKE BENNETT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2001

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker. Last Friday night, June 1st, my good friend 
and our former colleague, Representative Dawson Mathis from the great 
State of Georgia, attended graduation exercises for his granddaughter 
Shannon Mathis at Orange Park High School in Clay County, Florida. The 
President of the Class of 2001, Mike Bennett, addressed his classmates 
at that event and so impressed former Representative Mathis that he 
called his remarks to my attention. I would also note with more than a 
little pride that Mike's father, Ken Bennett, is a native of 
Huntington, West Virginia, in my Congressional District.
  At this point, I would ask that Mike Bennett's address be printed in 
the Record. I wish him the best in his studies at the U.S. Naval 
Academy this fall.
  Address of Mike Bennett: Orange Park High School, Senior Class 
Graduation, June 1, 2001.
  It is not until we have lost everything, that we are free to do 
nothing.
  For thirteen school years, we, the senior class of 2001, have had our 
lives laid out before us. We have been told what to do, where to go, 
what to learn, and even when to eat. We have had people take us by the 
hand, and show us the way. We have been cared for by people that have 
chosen to ignore our shortcomings, and look past our imperfections. For 
this we are eternally grateful, and can never truly show our gratitude.
  For almost eighteen years of life, our parents, family, and friends 
have been our North Star. They have cared for us unselfishly, and 
without fail. They have brought us, and been with us, through both 
triumph and tragedy. They have given, even when not asked to, advice 
and love, from which we have flourished. They are the people that have 
taught us the lessons of life, and the lessons of love.
  To our teachers, thank you. You have given so much of yourselves, to 
people, that only days before, were complete strangers. Your infectious 
love, and underlying understanding are the reason we are here today. 
Without your help, I personally would not be the person that I am 
today. And, I am positive, everyone else, in our class, would be 
changed as well.

[[Page 10250]]

  Which brings me to today. All of the aforementioned guidance that has 
previously been given to us in vast bundles, will soon shrink. Not 
because of lack of concern or interest, but rather an increase in 
physical distance. We, the alumni to be, of Orange Park High School, 
will soon be out on our own. We will blaze our own trails, straying 
from the beaten path, and make our own decisions. For the first time in 
our young lives, we will be completely responsible for ourselves. We 
will have to deal with large decisions, such as what to do after 
graduation, and small, seemingly unimportant ones, like what to eat for 
dinner.
  Each decision that we make, will shape our futures, no matter how 
small the matter seems. Our slates are clean, and the books of our 
lives are waiting to be written, by us, alone. We need to take our 
precious gift of life, and run with it. We need to live our lives for 
ourselves, and nobody else. We need to remember that the decisions we 
make, can never be changed, and must be thought out, for ourselves 
alone.
  But, most importantly, we need not look back on our pasts and ask 
what if, but rather, look only at the present, and to the future. If we 
wonder about, and dwell upon the past, our lives will pass us by. 
Pondering over the past brings nothing but pain, regrets, and the 
deepest of sorrows. So, we, the senior class of 2001, must walk the 
fine line of remembering the past, but not dwelling on it.
  Finally, I leave you, my fellow classmates with this. We, for the 
first time in our lives, have nothing hanging over our heads, and the 
world at our feet. We must not waste this opportunity, for we will 
never have one like it, ever again.
  For, it is not until we have lost everything, that we are truly free 
to do anything.

                          ____________________