IMAGE GALLERY: Portsmouth High Seniors Celebrate

Portsmouth High School Class of 2012 Valedictorian and Salutatorian Joshua and Nick Pfosi are twin brothers, but they had two different messages for the classmates during Friday evening's 198th annual Commencement ceremony.

Nick Pfosi told the 239 other members of the Class of 2012 to appreciate their failures they may experience in life because they will be indelibly linked to their future successes.

He said he and his classmates should "not be afraid to capsize and to not be afraid of adventure because of the fear of failure" because any setbacks they experience will make them work harder to achieve whatever goals they want to achieve.

"So tonight, Class of 2012, celebrate your success, walk out these doors and embrace failure," Nick Pfosi said.

Josh Pfosi chose to use his speech to communicate a different message to his classmates. "I want to advocate taking risks," he said.

He said life will present many risks that people must take if they hope to achieve certain things. "Define success on your own terms" by assuming risks and "let success be defined by your own measure," he said.

Portsmouth High School Principal Jeffrey Collins noted that the Class of 2012 graduates should continue to be filled with Clipper pride. Just as the Clipper ships sailed all over the world and brought goods back to their port, Collins said the Class of 2012 Clippers will also go out and make their way in the world and do well because of everything they have learned in the Portsmouth, Rye, Greenland and New Castle schools.

Portsmouth High School Senior Nick Aikens also performed a song he composed titled "Book of Life," that echoed many of the themes expressed by the Pfosi twins, Collins and other Class of 2012 student leaders like Class President Susan Harvey.

What follows is an image gallery of Friday's Commencement.