Our Walk Together - Opening Day August 2023

8/16/2023

Good morning…Welcome to the 2023–2024 school year!

It is a real pleasure and a genuine privilege to be with you on this incredibly exciting---and beautiful—”First Day”.

Today we usher in a new school year, welcoming 804 students (record!), and 132 Faculty and Staff. For 170 of you, everything is literally “new”, and while I won’t read aloud all of your names today, please know that we are all excited to have you join our Community...I’d like to ask each of you who are new to Palmer Trinity to please stand and be recognized…You have chosen well, and Palmer Trinity has chosen well---a perfect match! Again, welcome.

We have been busy this Summer getting ready for all of you…Upgrades to existing spaces, new learning areas, fresh paint…Yes, we are ready to get started!

Today, we “kick-off” what promises to be an outstanding year…We have much to celebrate, and so much to be grateful for…

We celebrate The Official First Day of School, a “fresh” beginning…

We celebrate our 52nd year as a learning community…

We have accomplished much in our storied, and diverse history, and our future is very bright!

We celebrate that we are a Community that is constantly evolving---and in every way. A School that has grown from “humble roots” and 23 acres to a sprawling, 60-acre campus, filled with nearly 1,000 individuals crossing paths every day!

We celebrate the chance to learn, to grow, and to be part of something greater than ourselves.

We celebrate the simple fact that we are here, in person…Side by side, arm in arm, hand in hand…Supporting one another, caring for one another, and working as one….We are the Palmer Trinity Falcons. We are proud, we are eager, and we are ready to “take flight”!

And, so again, I welcome you to what promises to be an outstanding Year at Palmer Trinity.

As many of you may know, I try to make time each day to walk…to get outside and move. I have always valued exercise, and, while I would still like to do even more, I do plan my day around this concept of physical activity…

On many days, my walks happen early in the morning, oftentimes at sunrise… Spurred on during Covid, I have established a personal goal of exercising, or simply walking, 300 minutes per week. For me, this time spent outdoors, in fresh air, moving about, really brings me genuine solace and great joy. Whether it’s a full hour, at a vigorous pace, or a short, easy stroll, I always feel better after I have walked.

Without going through the entire list of benefits of walking, or exercise in general, it’s safe to say that it has only done me well, and provided not only physical benefits but a host of mental and emotional positives. The great European philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard echoes my thoughts, much more eloquently, as he claims,

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it…

And, so, as we begin this year, I’d like to offer a few brief thoughts—and, if you’ll allow me—some photos were taken from my very own Summer Vacation out in the beautiful Northwestern region of our country, in upstate Washington and Seattle, where I spent two wonderful weeks…I hope you’ll enjoy these photos and take away something helpful as I use this simple Analogy of:

Our Walk Together…

So, let’s get started. Lace-up your shoes, if you will, get ready, and remember, that:

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

—Lao Tzu

Today we take that “first step”...As we travel together, don’t forget that YOU are bringing your own unique talents, “fresh eyes”, and lessons and experiences already learned…And while Palmer Trinity may be “new” to you, you are more than ready for this journey…Today is YOUR day!

Your “single step” is a chance for each of you to start “on the right foot”, so to speak, today, and at this very moment, right here, as a Palmer Trinity Falcon…I sincerely hope that you will join me in my optimism, and heed the wise words of noted author, Maya Angelou, who reminds us, that

You bring your “new eyes” today—an opportunity to begin “fresh”; to start anew; to “set the tone”; to invent yourself…Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily. If a person does not invent herself, she will be invented. So, to be bodacious enough to invent ourselves is wise.

Be bodacious!

Set the tone today. Work diligently to be the very best version of yourself. You are here for a reason. And you come with an entire community supporting you—your family, your friends, and new acquaintances to be made. In fact, there are nearly 1,000 of us on this campus. Look around you…We are all on this journey together. And, we are all part of something greater than ourselves.

As a student and an Ambassador for Palmer Trinity, I am counting on EACH OF YOU to step up…To be a person of integrity—someone who can be counted on to do the right thing, at all times. Someone, whom I dare say, will be kind, will choose to make a positive impact; someone who will LEAD WITH LOVE.

Yes, we begin our Walk knowing that each of us is more than ready to take that first step, bringing our own unique selves for the general good of our beloved Palmer Trinity Community, and the greater World.

Know, too, that our Walk will be filled with beautiful sights…

Take notice of those sights…Don’t forget to “check out the view”, and soak in the joys and little pleasures each day offers. Here, on our own campus, we are surrounded by a multitude of peacocks and teeming wildlife, 77 different species of trees, and an ever-evolving natural landscape…Beauty is all around!

Remember to savor your journey—this Palmer Trinity experience.

Likewise, on our Walk, there will be some twists and turns…Unforeseen challenges in your trek.

Some unexpected bumps in the road…

Our Path may be steep at times…

There will be many steps to climb…

Remember that you can do this…Keep going! Stay persistent. Challenge yourself to conquer those steps, and to give your best effort, at all times. Take that positive attitude of yours, and,

Clear your mind of can’t.

—Dr. Samuel Johnson

With your “can do” spirit, you are sure to persevere, and, once you’ve climbed those steps, make time to Pause. To Stop. To Rest.

Take the necessary “pit stop” along the way. Your physical, spiritual, and mental health are necessary for you to thrive.

Gather your energy, and make the necessary time and effort for genuine reflection and to recharge. And, remember,

There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.

—Alan Cohen

As you also know by now, there will certainly be bigger obstacles on our Walk. Barriers that may seem too difficult to cross or pass.

Do not despair! Oftentimes, it is from those seemingly impossible obstacles that we learn the most. Noted anthropologist Margaret Mead tells us that:

We are continually faced with great opportunities brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems.

You’ll have to adapt…You’ll need to be flexible, and use your wits, your smarts, your resources…You’ll need to adjust accordingly…And, if you don’t believe me, listen to Dr. Seuss:

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

Yes; those “opportunities” are all around, but you are up for the task at hand!

Finally, don’t forget to make a friend or two on this journey…Make room for someone in your life. Find that person whom you can lean on, and whom you can count on…

Work to be a loyal, true friend… Find time to “sit together”, share stories, laugh, cry, or just “be”. Never underestimate the power of friendship.

Friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aid each other to persevere in the road to a happier life.

—Pythagoras

And, so, dear Falcons, TODAY is OUR DAY. It is our TIME to begin OUR WALK TOGETHER. It’s going to be an incredible year...Great things are in store for you…

We are sure to have many wonderful adventures in the coming days...We will celebrate our triumphs together, and we will work through any of those challenges or unexpected roadblocks.

I encourage you to dream big, commit yourself fully, and embrace whatever comes your way…You will do well to remember the wise words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

We are all inventors…guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates—all opportunities.

The Gate is open.

The Road beckons.

It is time for us to carve our path, and create our way.

Let’s take these first steps now, knowing that we are at the inception of what promises to be an unforgettable journey:

… as we begin OUR WALK TOGETHER…

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