To the class of 2011,

PEA RIDGE — As senior class president, I would like to say congratulations on graduating. High school has been a journey, but then again, most things in life are. It seems like 13 short years ago, we walked through the doors of Pea Ridge Elementary, said goodbye to our moms and made new friends. Little did we know these friendships would last us a life time. The class of 2011 is not just a class; we are a family. And like any family, each person brings their unique personality. And believe you me; we have a lot of personality. We could always identify each other for our strong points. Of course we had groups: the jocks, thenerds, the bandies and everyone else.

But unlike most classes, these groups didn’t define us. We all shared the experience of high school together. We had to suffer through Algebra II, listen to Mrs. Zumwalt make her moose call and soon we will share graduation.

Although graduation marks the end of our high school career, it marks the beginning of the rest of our lives. The girl who could play a mean trumpet solo will go on to pursue her passion for music. The boy you could always count on to hit a three when the buzzer went off in a game will go fulfill his dreams. The kid who never got anything less than an A on a paper will continue on to be the most successful man I will ever come to know. Even the boy who almost killed me in the seventh grade by tripping me and making me crash into a trophy case with a sucker in my mouth will go on to be a soldier and defend his country.

I wish I could list everyone’s potential and aspirations in life, but the newspaper just isn’t that long. But by leading this class my junior and senior year, I have seen great things: friends who stand by each other, ones who had their differences but banded together to get the job done. I’ve seen boys wear dresses just to raise money, and I’ve seen you’re student council humiliate themselves just to get a laugh out of the school (we won’t mention that I was in the group).

The class of 2011 is capable of so many great things. We are full of leaders, job doers, trend setters and hard workers.

I believe in the potential for each and every one us of to go succeed. While friends will be missed, the memories we made will never be forgotten.

Thank you, class of 2011, for letting me be a part of those memories. I truly felt as if I belonged to a family. So I pray that you all set your goals high and dream bigger than you’ve ever imagined. You will all be missed and you are all so loved. Thank you for everything.

SINCERELY, MEGAN ELIZABETH HARRIS