Don’t Forget Your ABCs.

Reminder: don’t forget your ABCs.

I was honored to return to my alma mater as the commencement speaker for the Early College of Forsyth Class of 2026.

A full circle moment.

There is something sacred about standing in a place that once helped shape you, now returning as someone trusted to speak life into the next generation. Ten years ago, I was sitting where they were sitting. Full of dreams, questions, uncertainty, and possibility. I did not know exactly how life would unfold. I did not know every challenge, opportunity, failure, blessing, or lesson that would meet me along the way.

But I knew I had to keep going.

Standing there, looking at the graduates, I realized something.

The ABCs that matter most are not just the ones we learned all those years ago. They are the ones we choose to live by from here on out.

That is what I shared with the graduates.

But if we are being honest, it applies to all of us.

Act when you are unsure.

Bet on yourself.

Chase your dreams.

Simple words.

Heavy responsibility.

Because life gets real fast.

There comes a point when the structure changes. The reminders slow down. The deadlines are no longer printed on a syllabus. The teacher is not always standing at the front of the room telling you what comes next. After you “graduate,” from whatever stage of life you are in, the responsibility shifts.

It is on you.

Your discipline.

Your consistency.

Your decisions.

Not just your intentions.

And that is the part we do not always talk about enough. Dreams are powerful, but dreams require movement. Potential is real, but potential still has to be developed. Purpose is meaningful, but purpose demands participation.

You have to act, even when you do not have every answer.

You have to bet on yourself, even when the room has not fully recognized what you carry.

You have to chase your dreams, even when the road is uncertain, uncomfortable, or unfamiliar.

That was my charge to the Class of 2026.

Do not wait until everything is perfect to begin.

Do not shrink your life to fit someone else’s expectations.

Do not confuse fear with a stop sign.

The next chapter will require courage, focus, humility, and resilience. It will require them to keep becoming, even when becoming feels heavy. It will require them to understand that success is not built only in moments of celebration, but in the quiet decisions made when no one is watching.

Graduation is not the end.

It is a beginning with more responsibility.

A beginning that asks, what will you do with what you have been given?

A beginning that asks, who will you become when the applause fades?

A beginning that asks, will you make your life mean something?

To the Early College of Forsyth Class of 2026, thank you for allowing me to come home and share in such a meaningful moment. I hope you remember your ABCs, not just as letters, but as a way of living.

Act when you are unsure.

Bet on yourself.

Chase your dreams.

Then go, and make your life mean something.