Shelby Millican told Giovanna Little to sing the lyrics without paying attention to the meaning of their farewell song Friday night at Monterey High School’s class of 2010 graduation.

It wasn’t long into the duet of “For Good,” from the musical “Wicked,” however, when Little broke down into tears while singing with Millican, who has been Little’s friend since they were young girls.

“It is a song about friendship,” Little, 18, said. “I just could not take it.”

Little, along with 40 of her classmates, said goodbye to life as a Monterey High School student, for good.

“Let us say farewell to high school and take the opportunities ahead of us in life,” said the valedictorian, Millican, addressing her classmates. “The new world is (your) sea — take the current when it serves and don’t lose your ventures.”

Jesse Louviere, 18, said graduating from Monterey High was unbelievable.

“It is finally sinking in that I am not in high school, but I am ready for it,” he said. “I’m ready for the whole world.”

Though Louviere is headed to Tulane in the big city of New Orleans, he said he would miss being in small town Monterey.

“I would not trade my experience here for anything in the world,” Louviere said. “You get to be close to your teachers in a school like this, and you are way closer to all of your peers.”

Salutatorian Ariel Hector said while it will be heartbreaking to leave high school, there is a whole world of possibilities ahead.

“We’ve made it through our yesterdays and we’ll keep going, achieving and accomplishing with the same enthusiasm (we did in high school),” Hector said. “So remember, look forward to tomorrow, live for today, and learn from yesterday.”

While Little has sang her last song a high schooler, she said she has a lot of singing to look forward to at Northwestern State University.

“I’m going to major in theater with a minor in music,” she said. “I am hoping to come out and teach music or theater in high school or college.”