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WESTON, Conn. Alex Brown slipped out of his blue graduation gown, placed his guitar strap over his shoulder and prepared to sing an original song he wrote for Weston High School's graduating class of 2011.
"What's out there, we ask ourselves. Here we come, ready or not," Alex sang Wednesday night under a tent on Weston's campus. "Tomorrow's here we're hanging on don't let tomorrow pass you by like another yesterday."
Christina Welsh, the class' salutatorian, told her classmates they have one simple question to answer: "How do we spend our time on Earth?" The answer is not important, she said. But "it's that we can determine our own fate." Welsh will be traveling to Ghana in the fall with Princeton College's Bridge Year Program before officially starting her freshman year in 2012.
Getting out of Weston appeals to many of the graduates, but Matthew Kalmans said finding a way to make enough money to move back might be one of their next goals in life.
Dakota Sloop gave her classmates a list of things to do before leaving Weston, including eat a Dirty Bird signature sandwich from Peter's Market, attend a sporting event, get kicked out of the high school library, go to a powder puff game, attend the Memorial Day fair and last say goodbye.
Principal Lisa Wolak used the word "passion" to describe the class of 2011. While looking at time capsules the students made as first-graders, she saw that Jules Koslow wanted to be an artist and Wolak said she is now an "incredible" artist.
Jean Bennett, a history teacher at Weston High, gave the students some advice as they leave Weston. She told them to "continue to ask questions" and to "always be outraged by injustice."
"You don't have to make big waves in order to make change," said Bennett.
After they received their diplomas and moved their tassels from right to left, the class of 2011 boarded coach buses for a mystery trip.
Did you graduate from Weston High School on Wednesday? What are your plans for the future? Send your story to shenry@thedailyweston.com.
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