For the Class of 2014 your time has come. From kindergarten or preschool, throughout this year, you all have spent many hours of your life in a classroom. For 13 years of your life you have been taught facts, figures and equations, spent hours writing reports and playing sports.

At this point in time, many of you may have the feeling that you are ready to leave the nest. You are ready to stretch your wings and fly.

You probably have the feeling that you have arrived. The time has come for you to move forward with your lives and make decisions that will affect your future, now and in the years to come. You are ready to make your mark in the world.

Many events have occurred since your birth. To some it is mind-boggling how much the world has changed from what earlier generations have experienced. Through the Internet, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, you have experienced many changes both good and bad. The information age continues to expand at an increasingly faster rate and the world you will be moving into seems to move faster each day.

You have worked hard for to reach this point in your life. Many hours of studying, doing homework, working on projects, and taking tests have culminated in the last few days of your senior year. You have made friends that you will carry with you for the rest of your life. You have had teachers and mentors that have invested their time and talents helping to mold you into the person you have become. Many prayers have been said up for you and over you throughout your life and more will be prayed as you make your way out into the world.

However, as the tassel has moved you have stepped forward into a new part of your life. Your status has changed from being high school students, to young adults ready to take on the world. Many of you will enter college to continue your education, some will enter the work force and others may join the armed forces.

You will have many choices to make as you move into this part of your life. You have unlimited opportunities, many dreams to fulfill and many adventures ahead of you. Go forward with this:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

May God continue to bless and keep you in all your new adventures, both near and far. Always know that you are much loved by Him, your parents, extended family and your friends.

Randy Garrison is the president and publisher of the Hartselle Enquirer.