You will learn that life is not a race

Dear Bais Yaakov Graduate,

Aazel tov on this momentous milestone! You must be experiencing a plethora of emotions; excitement, happiness, and maybe a little bit of apprehension. Excitement to be done with school and happiness that you have made it to this point. Apprehension because you don’t know what the future will hold for you.

You have spent the last 12 years of your life cocooned in a classroom, having been given guidance and inspiration from your beloved morahs, principals, and teachers. You learned lessons on emunah, on happiness, how to be a true eved Hashem. You learned Chumash, Navi, mefarshim. Maybe you shone in high school and maybe you didn’t. Perhaps you had a lot of friends, or perhaps school was a social struggle for you. For some of you school was an enjoyable experience; others dreaded it. However, as soon as you leave the familiar halls of Bais Yaakov, each of you will go out to chart your own path. A path that will be unique to you, yet will be influenced by your many years of Bais Yaakov education. A path that will take you places you never dreamed of going. A path filled with growth and learning. You will take all the life lessons that you learned in school and apply them to “real life” as an adult.

Until now, the lives of you and your friends have pretty much followed the same trajectory. When high school ends, that trajectory will change as well. Each girl will move on in the direction that she chooses. Some of you may be going to seminary next year in Eretz Yisrael; others are going to stay in local seminaries or get a job. Some of you will go to work in offices, some in schools, and some of you will go out into the world to get a college degree and work in a profession.

You will learn that life is not a race. Some of you will be married quickly, others will have to wait a bit longer. Some of your friends may be pushing baby carriages soon after being married; others will struggle. Some girls will move far away; others will remain in your hometown. Some of the friendships you formed throughout high school will mature with you, while other friendships will slowly fade.

You will have the ability to be successful and make a difference in Klal Yisrael as a Jewish woman, using your talents and abilities. Wherever your life path takes you, remember that you are always a Bais Yaakov girl. You are a Bais Yaakov girl in the choices you will make and in the direction you take. You are a Bais Yaakov girl in the way you conduct yourself both in the frum and outside world. You are a Bais Yaakov girl in the way you will approach challenges and celebrate simchahs. Know that although you are no longer in a Bais Yaakov classroom, your learning will never stop. Although this may be the end of your formal education, you can always access learning on your own and continue to grow in your avodas Hashem.

You have worked hard to reach this point! Celebrate with happiness and look with excitement toward your future.

Wishing you hatzlachah in the direction you choose,

Your fellow

Bais Yaakov alumna

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 847)