Letter to Seniors: Karen Heinzmann
June 12, 2020
Dear Class of 2020,
Congratulations. You made it!!!
What I remember from my last month or so of high school is how ready I was to leave. I wanted to leave the South, leave my parents, leave the house on Londonberry Road where I grew up… When I went to college, on the long drive with my mom and dad from Atlanta to Hanover, I spent most of the time in the backseat daydreaming about how different my new life would be. When we finally arrived on campus, I insisted on finding my way to McNutt Hall by myself while my parents waited in the car. I have a notoriously bad sense of direction, so although my folks parked right in front of McNutt, it nonetheless took me fifteen minutes to find. I remember how badly I wanted to hide the lost, scared, very unsure of herself 18-year-old that I was. I refused to ask for directions, and I could not see what was right in front of me. In the end, after a fair amount of aimless wandering during which I pretended to know exactly where I was headed, I came full circle back to the place where I’d started, and eventually ended up in the right spot.
What do I wish for you? That you know it’s always okay to ask for help, and that no one expects you to have all of the answers.
We all hope, sincerely, that you circle back around to this little school on the hill. We are so proud of you, more than we can say, and we want to hear about what comes next.
Karen Heinzmann
Riverwood High School
Class of 1986