Well, you are Seniors now. The big dogs. Those with the good parking spots and late arrival or early dismissal. The ASB officers and team captains. North Kitsap High School is yours to lead now. Its character will, for the next 12 months, to a great extent will be formed by your character. The baton has been passed to you.

Now what?

Here are some suggestions from a middle-aged, balding dad going through “Senioritis” for the second, and last, time.

Participate. Enjoy your senior year. Help others enjoy it, too. Attend the band concerts and the school play. Watch both the Miss Poulsbo and the Mr. Viking pageants and root for your friends. Have perfect attendance at the home athletic events. Too soon, work or study hours, monthly bills and other obligations, will diminish your free time. Make the most of it.

Be a good role model. The younger members of your teams, organizations and classes will look to you for guidance. Give the right message. Rather than “Why should I listen in class, the seniors don’t?” encourage positive participation. Instead of younger players thinking “The seniors aren’t following the coach’s rules, why should I?” show them how to be good, dedicated team players. Lead by example. Show the younger students that it is commendable to get good grades; how to be respectful; the joy of school spirit; that being a smart-aleck doesn’t get you far in life really.

Have fun. Not at someone’s expense, or by being gross or cynical. During your last year make positive times to remember for you and the kids you’ve grown up with. Soon you’ll be going your separate ways. There’s an old saying, “It is as it ends.” Have your high school career end with great fun and positive memories.

Take pride in your school. Help decorate the school or set up chairs for an event. Pick up trash you see thrown on the school grounds.

Set new standards. For good grades. In extra-curricular activities. For causing the least trouble and making the most positive contributions to the school and community. These new standards will be your legacy. Make the Class of 2003 remembered as a class who cared, and shared.

Finally, each of you should do one random act of kindness a month. Send a note thanking a teacher or congratulating a student on an accomplishment. Say an unexpected “hello” or kind word to an underclass member (many parents have had their sophomore child run in and say, “Patrick Gilbert, a senior, said ‘hi’. I didn’t even know he knew me!”) or help a struggling student with their homework. The ripples of your unexpected kindness will go farther, and last longer, than you can imagine. Some of the most powerful phrases in the English language are very short: “Good job.” “Well done.” “Thanks.” “How can I help?” “I appreciate it.” Use them to make others, and yourself, better.

Many years from now, after your time to lead NKHS has passed, you, members of the faculty and the community will reflect on your Senior year. With a little dedication, effort and common sense, you can be remembered as the outstanding young people you are.

I know you can do it. Many of you gave passed through my life, some through my court. You have an extraordinary group of people in your class. Yeah, I know that is said every year about every class. I mean it, though. You are a special group. Leaders of tomorrow, no doubt. So Pat, Jay, Bjorn, Lindsey, Chris, Chelsie, Phil, Quinn, Ryan, Ricky, Alex, Jill, Tyler, Jackie, Derek, Donnie, Mike, Amy, Kolby, Craig, Kristina, and, yeah, Andy, and the rest of the Class of 2003, it’s your turn now. Make the best of it. Serve your school and community well. You’ll be glad, and proud in years to come, that you did.

Remember (to only slightly butcher a Martin Luther King quote)

“You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. . . You don’t have to know Einstien’s Theory of Relativity to serve. . . You only need to have a heart full of kindness and willingness to make the world better.”

Go get ‘em, Seniors!

Jeff Tolman is an award-winning lawyer and Municipal Court Judge in Poulsbo and on occasion he shares tidbits of his wisdom with our readers.