Congratulations, County High Class of 2012, our thirteen-year marathon is over. Some of you may know I am a distance runner, part of an immensely successful cross-country and distance track program. We were fourth at the state cross-country championships, and we are the best senior boys team in the state. My involvement in athletics truly linked me with our school and granted me friends whom I will remember for a lifetime. One of the most important aspects of my time in high school was getting involved. Wherever your next journey takes you, don't sit back and watch the action. Take the initiative and you will experience the benefits. Just look around you. These are the people you grew up with, the people you were teammates with and the people you have survived dozens of classes with for the last four years. They are not merely faces in a yearbook. They are your people, your community, your family. They are the greatest benefit of being involved. Another concept I have learned from my participation in running is teamwork. No matter how hard we try, we cannot live our lives without others' help or without helping others. We must work together to succeed on the road ahead. This is the essence of teamwork. I know that even my personal success in cross-country and track is not solely mine. I know that my three district titles, one in cross country and two in track, in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs, could not have been accomplished without my team's unequivocal support and for that, I thank them. However, along with the team element, we must remember one notion. Live life for you. Expect more out of yourself. Expect to reach the finish line, expect to finish first and expect to finish in one piece. Don't live your life striving to fulfill the expectations of your parents, your professors or your bosses. Live up to your own. Raise your expectations. Exceed them. Reach your potential. Now I have one thing to ask of you. Tonight, as we cross this finish line before us and set forth upon our next journey, strive to make a difference. Get involved to make our country a better place. Use teamwork to bring our people and the whole world together. I know to me personally, making a difference in our country and our world is paramount. Next week, I leave for the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.
Introduction- In order to succeed in life, you have to be open to trying new experiences, even if you know you might fail. If you do fail, you have to persevere and try again if you want to reach your goal. To become better than you are, you must be exposed to new ideas and moments of failure and doubt.
To the County High School Class of 2012: As you sit in front of me, I know what most of you are thinking at the moment. There are those who are already pondering about what life without high school will be like; those who are debating whether or not to tell your crush tonight about your whispers of adoration you’ve secretly held for four years; some simply want to get out of that ungodly chair, get that thing that isn’t really a diploma but only tells you when to pick up the thing, and then be the first one on the green bus to the grad party — you know who you are. And the rest, well, the rest aren’t even paying attention, you’re thinking, “Great, here comes one of the valedictorian speakers. Next up: a boring speech straight out of the pits of scholarly hell.” And it’s OK, I don’t mind — that sort of thing comes with the territory. But tonight, I ask that you give me a chance to break that stereotype so that I may address you in the full splendor that you deserve after 13 grueling years of work. I do not want to be known as your “valedictorian” as I stand here, c’mon guys, there is no time left to place labels on people anymore, instead I ask that you accept me as one of your peers — and as a man who will enjoy becoming a graduate alongside you.
When I was in elementary school, I loved to read. I was a total nerd back then ... okay maybe I still am, but one thing has changed. Now I don't so much like reading. My favorite poet was Shel Silverstein, who wrote "Where the Sidewalk Ends." He seemed like he was a total hippie, but that's cool because I like hippies. My grandma is a recovering hippie. I like her too. Anyway, Shel Silverstein wrote about the coolest things. He wrote about magical erasers, eating whales and a boy with long hair flying away from people who were taunting him. He captured all of the things that I loved without knowing that I actually loved them. Now you may ask, how does this hippie relate to our graduation? Well, he wrote a poem entitled "Traffic Light" and this is how it goes:
My first week of school, everyone encouraged me to join a club or a team. Of course I did not want to, until I heard we had a track team, and even then I did not know if I wanted to pursue it. In my mind, debating if I should dedicate myself to track was a hard decision. I was about to not only give this sport my time but also nothing but
Growing up, I played just about every sport our small town provided: soccer, basketball, baseball, football, boxing, golf, you name it. There was only one sport that I had yet to embark upon: running; however, during my seventh grade year, I decided to try it out, and it ended up being a great decision. From the beginning, the one thing that drew me in was the atmosphere. All of the older runners on the team really embraced us younger runners, despite our youth and immaturity. As a seventh grade kid not really knowing what to expect participating in a varsity sport, this gesture really meant a lot, and it is one of the main reasons that I fell in love with the sport. I stayed with this sport throughout my high school career, and now that I am older, I have the opportunity of being on the other side of the spectrum. My teammates and I love having the middle school kids on the team, and I try my best to ensure that they have a similar experience to the one I had just five short years ago.
As much as this class has grown together, every one of us has also grown as a unique individual. We have found our talents and interests. These interests have drawn us to different activities and in turn helped shape our lives. Some of us have excelled academically while others have helped improve Summer High School by participating in activities such as Link Crew or ASB. Some of us acted in plays while others shared their musical talents by singing in the choir or performing with our outstanding band. Many of us have preferred to be involved in community service with a group like KEY Club. In addition to these school activities, many of us have invested time in jobs and other community activities.
I believe that my involvement in sports has prepared me for real life situations and has impacted me in a positive way. One lesson that I will be able to carry with me is staying positive during difficult times. There were plenty of rough times during the seasons when I was not performing to my fullest potential or having conflicting moments with my teammates but I learned that I should use the these difficult times as a motivation. I learned
I was so excited to start my new journey in school. I knew that being involved in a sport was going to help me become more confident. Running has taught me how to achieve my goals, be tough; both physically and mentally, and appreciate life. The first week of cross country was difficult.
Teamwork of course in the most important skill and person could have. The skill to work with others and not be selfish is demanded by schools and countries around the world. Some people struggle, however, I learned this pressing skill as player on my high school team. It took me awhile to realize the true meaning of teamwork. Most seasons I got the theme but I never understood the true context. It was not until my junior season where the theme clicked. Junior year I did not play, however, there were a bunch hardworking teammates of mine I encouraged. We all had one goal as a team and it was to win the state championship. We obtained the goal but it was not because of talent. The real reason was teamwork. Rather than sulk and complain, I cheered them on and at the end of the day I was still a big part of the team. This was when I learned teamwork was for everyone’s best interest and can help reach any goal people put their minds to. However, through teamwork I also discovered how to overcome obstacles through hard work and having a relentless mind set when trying to maximize my baseball skills. My high school team has extremely tough and insane off-season workouts. Similar to the
In conclusion, I have learned to work more exemplary with a team in various ways. To begin, I have learned how to combine forces and communicate, as well as work with other individuals. Secondly, teamwork helped me become a thriving leader. Last but not least, sportsmanship, like teamwork, inspired me to put in additional time and sweat to get incredible results. Brian Tracy once aptly stated “Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it.”
I had never really been a part of a team that had a chance to win something, but the potential was always there. I finally got my chance to be a part of such a team my sophomore year of track. Mr. Jones, the head track coach, had decided to experiment with some different races to gain more team points. Since the girls' team lacked a medley relay, he placed Cindy, Kim, Susan and I in those spots. Cindy would run the 400, Kim would run the 200, and Susan and I would start the race off by each running the 100. We all had worked viciously to earn those spots by running off against our teammates.
My high school days made me more independent and resourceful because I had to balance the challenges of commuting three hours daily plus studying in order to earn good grades. I was also an active member in various school activities such as, basketball, badminton, and various community events. I also acted as a leader for my high school basketball team for state level competition. With hard work and continuous dedication, I earned many awards in high school for my preeminent performance in the fields of science. I was one of 30 students, out of 80, who graduated from high school in my class.
To start off on the right path, the team must understand what they are working towards. They must be committed to work hard in order to accomplish their goals. Each member should have expectations from everyone and themselves as part of the team.
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Sitting in the backseat of the car, I used to bombard my family with these questions. On our summer road trips I was so anxious for the destination that I failed to appreciate the journey. However, as time passed and I grew older, I realized that it was the journey that was important and not the destination.
be able to keep up with your team and you will keep going rather than