Today

 You are important.

Your life matters.  What you say and do counts.  That is why your educations is so vital.  That is why an army of people has dedicated themselves to teach you what you needed to know to succeed and excel.  The best teachers were placed before you.  You only deserved the best curriculum in school and in the school of life.  Innumerable hours and incalculable information were collected and disseminated to deliver to you the best.  Countless letters, e-mails, telephone calls and conversations have been crafted and designed only for your benefit.  The universe conspired to give you what you needed or might need in the future to prepare you for the road of life and for the transition from student to teacher to new generations.

Trying to navigate through a chaotic and sometimes deceptive world is difficult.  But you possess the varied skills to survive and thrive under any condition.  Do not forget to use them well.  Like muscles exercised they grow stronger with use.  Make good use of them.

Like the berachot, blessings, you learned in heder, religious school, each one detailed functions to make you into a whole human being.  Appreciation of the manifold gifts that we have each day makes us finer people.  Apply them to the extent that they become habitual, and say at least one hundred each day.  Refinement of character will be evident to us and everyone we meet. 

Keep far from evil and bad people.  One of the lessons those emissaries taught us is that we should always distance ourselves from those who do us harm, or worse, change us.

Remember who you are and the lineage that you carry.  You are a Jew.  No one should ever have to remind you of your unique identity.  You are part of a people with a long history and singular destiny.  Those people that gave birth to you were great and powerful men and women who carried the word of God through the epochs. Always be mindful of that distinction.

Faith and truth will carry you through the joys and challenges that await.  Be a person who holds those dual ideals as a banner, and you will grow to be a force for growth and resilience.  

Never stop learning and you will grow ever closer to become the person that God knows you can be and awaits.

Today marks the start of a new beginning.