Dear Lakeland Faculty/Staff/All of The Above: 

Some of you may know me, some of you may not. For those who don’t – my name is Emma Jane van

Heerden, although some people refer to me as Ripley. I am an 18 year old senior, off to college to do

whatever it is college kids do. But, before I join society for good and become a better version of myself

and blah blah blah; I just wanted to pay respect and credit where they are due. It’s quite hard to put it all

into words, but I shall try my best.

To begin, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again. Thank you for your

care, for your kindness, for your bothering to stay at Lakeland and for your guidance – even if being

involved with education and students was not your big dream as a little kid. Thank you for the

connections you’ve built, your attention to detail, your protection, and your understanding. I know kids

can be brutal. I know they can be tough and sassy and annoying and I know that teenagers, especially, are

not easy to deal with. Sometimes we forget that this is your first time around as well and that you didn’t

actually get a practice run before this life. And occasionally, you may not know what you’re doing either!

But at the end of the day, you are human; and I am sorry if you have encountered people who have treated

you as less than that. Especially students. And I suppose that only means all we can do is hope the future

will be bright. I know I’m crossing my fingers.

Anyway, I understand you don’t have all day, but one more point must be made before I leave you.

Coming from one human to another, I am being the most honest I have ever been when I say that I am

proud of you. All of you. For everything. For getting up each morning, for taking care of your loved ones,

for taking care of us, for somehow managing it all. It’s difficult, most certainly, but you do it. You may

not have a choice, you may not want to, but you do it. And that deserves some appreciation and

recognition. People hear those words less and less these days so even if I don’t know you personally, I

still mean it. I will always mean it. From student to teacher and person to person.

Well, I hope you all have an amazing rest of your days. And amazing nights and amazing afternoons and

amazing evenings and amazing twilights and dawns and dusks. And I hope that whatever patch of cloudy

sky you’re going through right now blows over and I hope that you see another sliver of sunlight soon.

And I hope you all sleep well and eat well and that those you love stay safe. And I hope that you yourself

stay safe, too. In return, I will try to do the same. I’ll be sure to keep a copy of this letter in my writing

box, take it with me through life, and when I’m 38 years old, tired and hopefully rich, I know I’ll read it

over with a sad little smile on my face and some rekindled hope within my heart.

Memories of a simpler time, I suppose.

Until then,

Your student,

Emma Jane van Heerden / Ripley 🙂