No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’….Well, we all have spent a high percentage of the last four years surrounded by pencils, teachers, and books. Textbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, and more.  Those of us planning on higher education face another two to four years of study with even more pencils and denser textbooks. So, what have we learned from all these books?             First of all, not everything we attempt comes out correctly the first time—whether it’s a basketball game, a titration lab, a precalc quiz, a choir piece, or a research paper. Many of us remember doing something over and over again until we got it right. All of us will face situations where it seems we just can’t get a task done correctly. But unlike math class, odd problems don’t have answers in the back of the book.             Other books have taught us that seemingly minor details can make a big difference—just ask anyone who tried to get papers accepted in College Writing. And if the math is off by one degree in the first step of a problem, one can get a vastly different answer at the end.             Finally, not everything we need to know or want to remember may make it into a book, but if we really care about it, we’ll find a way to do so. No matter how good the yearbook staff is, no matter how much they cram onto the ‘remember when’ page, they can’t fit four years of memories on paper.             Life is often referred to as a book. For some of us, the chapter entitled “High School” is difficult to close, while others have been searching for a Sparknotes version since freshman orientation. And while we have shared many experiences, each of us has chosen to write this chapter differently—whether on the sports field, on the stage, or on Facebook profiles.                        The next chapter of our lives will contain new characters, surprises, and plot twists. Sometimes we’ll wonder who took over our story and what on earth they’re planning next. At other times, we’ll face writers’ block. When we don’t know what to do next, we need to seek guidance from God and others. As Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Sometimes when I write a story, my pencil breaks. I could just let the story end there, but in real life, we don’t have that option. We have to keep moving.             And what will we do when our life-pencils break?             Don’t just sit there. Try something new! Grab a pen! Or a smartphone, or laptop, or whatever iThing Apple will come up with next. When we walk out of this auditorium, the next chapter of our lives will have begun.             Our choices will affect the next pages of our lives. One of the first ones I plan to make is to get out of this rather ridiculous outfit and into something that doesn’t make me look like a giant pumpkin. Thank you, everyone, for sharing this chapter of our lives.