Graduation Speech: Life's Defining Moments

514 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Factor effecting student motivation

I was watching a re-run of the "Dr. Phil" show the other day, and he was offering advice to someone who had an anger problem. Dr. Phil asked him to recall the top 10 defining moments in his life, which is where the secret to his anger problem was supposed to lie. So, I began thinking about what are the top ten defining moments in my life? The birth of my daughter was the first thing that came to my mind. She made me a mother, along with a 24-hour worrier and an insomniac.

As I began to dwell more on the topic I realized that going to college has not only been one of my defining moments, it has made me who I am. With all the different classes we take Community College, we realize interests we never knew we had. My first three quarters here, I was in the Running Start program, which allowed me to graduate high school while taking college courses. I took a political science class, just to fulfill my American history credit, and I realized I love politics. I never knew I had such a passion for debating heated topics like gun control until the teacher couldn't get me to stop talking in class. psychology taught me that my weird 2-year-old isn't so weird after all. And chemistry taught me that I really don't care for science that much. So, when my friends tell me they aren't going to college because they don't know what they want to do, I ask them how are you ever going to figure it out?

As you guys have your celebrations and get-togethers today, I encourage you to think about your first day at Johnson and how you have changed since then. Do you look on the world in a different way, or did college just confirm that this is the person you truly are? On one hand, my viewpoints on topics changed completely, when my professors opened up my eyes to things like discrimination and class-ism, and on other hand some of my beliefs were strongly supported.

Throughout school, I had everyone supporting me. When you have a baby young, everyone pressures you to finish school. I'm very proud to say that I continued school, not only for myself, but for my family too. Not because it is what I was suppose to do, although it is what was best for me.

Show More
Related

  • David Brooks Analysis

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    Going off to college is can be exciting because in these moments a student learn to be independent having the ability to choose how there future will end up. Some students come to college knowing exactly what there major will be. However, once they see the workload it may not be what they expected. Leaving them with the thought of changing

    Read More

  • The Bell Curve Essay: Why College Is Not Worth The Price

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since I grew up in a household with two parents who are college graduates, and even two grandparents who had graduated from college, the idea of attending college was never seen as a unique opportunity, but rather as a necessary part of my future. I’m not going to complain about growing up with parents who valued the pursuit of knowledge, but it certainly never exposed me to the mindset that maybe college is not the best option for everyone after high school. Today, there is a huge debate over if the price of college is really worth it in the end, with the high cost of tuition and the number of people who just aren’t prepared for the demands that college has to offer. And on the other side, some say that college is a necessity not just in one’s

    Read More

  • Food Pantry Thesis

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    I did not understand how I was supposed to know what I wanted to learn about in college. Once you get into high school, it is the first thing everyone wants to know. I started volunteering at a Food Pantry as a requirement for a class in 9th grade. I really enjoyed volunteering there and getting the opportunity to know the people I was helping. I had the opportunity to talk to a veteran who was homeless because he was an amputee and could not pay for any place to live. After hearing some people’s stories, I continued to attend Food Pantry throughout high school even after completing the required hours because I looked forward to coloring with the children who had to go with their mothers three hours early and saying hello to the

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech: Live Life to the Fullest

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    I would like to begin this evening by welcoming all of my classmates, staff, parents and guardians, the school board and superintendent, friends, and relatives to the commencement of the class of 2012.

    Read More

  • Growing Up As A Mexican American

    1237 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...as gone through those very same experiences. I arrived to college with many common misconceptions about the so called college experience. Similar to William Dereiewicz’s argument, for me college became this one thing everyone must do to earn more money. To be more successful I had to look towards the “STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and math” (27). I am personally guilty for falling into this common misconception but have since learned that college is more about experiences. College gives you the necessary skills to function in your chosen major. I came to Montevallo as a Biology major but have now began to question that decision. Looking towards the future I am hopeful that I will adapt to my newfound independence and develop my own set of moral beliefs and similar to my parents provide my future children with better opportunities than the one I had.

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech: A New Adventure

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    No amount of education can completely prepare us for the world that lies ahead of us. Because it presents many unknowns, it is exciting yet at the same time frightening. I know that there are still so many things that can only be learned through experience; a challenge with which we will soon all be faced. I would like to read a letter written by a woman by the name of Avril Johannes which was published in the book "Chicken Soup For the Soul." She writes this letter to the world upon her son's and his classmates' graduation and it relates some of these same ideas.

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Good evening. Some of you out there may not realize this but those of you who attended Suntime Middle School have been with this guy for the last seven years. I would like to ask you all, not just Suntime Middle School grads and who all else, to join me in thanking Mr. Weather for his patience and dedication to the success of our education over the years. We are the Class of 2000. The first graduating class of the new millennium. The past four years have been pretty wild. We started out as a bunch of rats in a small cage, but as time went by we learned and matured and became big rats in a new small cage, but in any case, the cage door is now opening; the handlers turning us wild things loose. As we leave "Where the Wild Things Are," home to some of the best cat fights, fist fights and food fights this side of the Cascades, I have a little surprise for all of you sitting in front of me here tonight in your caps and gowns … we ain’t seen nothing yet!

    Read More

  • My College Career Choices

    455 Words  | 1 Pages

    You go three years of high school preparing for college and at the same time having fun. Until you are in your senior year of high school that’s when you realize and start asking your self what college do I want to go to? Or what college career I want to pursue? That’s when you notice you have but so little time to answer these questions. Me I’m in my last year of high school and I though I already knew what career I wanted to pursue, but its now that I notice that not even I know what I’m going to do with my life? All I’m sure of its that I’m going to graduate out of high school with a diploma and that I’m going to college. But what happens after that? What major did I study? Or where did I go to accomplish my goal?

    Read More

  • Who Goes To College By Cecilia Rodriguez Milanes

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the reading “Who Goes to College” written by Cecilia Rodriguez Milanes I was able to see myself in her situation. When she was a senior she had no idea what she was going to do her following year, all she knew was that her parents wanted her to attend college. She always wanted to work, she liked being able to provide for herself but her parents always told her that college would come first. She had no clue of how college worked, what classes she would take or what she would do there. After all the confusion she had of what college truly is, she began to love it. I believe that Cecilia Rodriguez chose the right path, even though she was not completely sure of what she wanted to do she always worked hard and never let any obstacle put her

    Read More

  • Transition from High School to College

    1662 Words  | 4 Pages

    All or most of us have gone through it. The countless hours we spent filling out college applications, scholarship applications, visiting colleges, and taking the dreaded tests. Whether it was the PSAT, SAT, ACT, or other college entrance exams, it was a big hassle. After visiting such a great number of colleges, the advantages and disadvantages of the schools seemed to run together in my mind. The endless paper work and deadlines seemed as though they would never end. When I thought about college, it seemed like it was not real, like it was a figment of my imagination. I imagined what it would be like, wondering where I would go. The questions of "What did I want to major in?" and after I decided that, "What schools had my major?" circled around in my head. When filling out questionnaires for college searches I was asked about what size college I preferred, whether I wanted to be in a rural or suburban area. Did I really know how to answer these questions that would so greatly affect the next four years of my life?

    Read More

  • College Is A Waste Of Time And Money Caroline Bird Analysis

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    If anything I want my readers to take one thing from my essay, and that is know what you want to do before you attend college. It will save you a lot of money and time in the long run. In conclusion I think college is a waste of time and money if you don't know what you want from it exactly. I also think that college is worth it only if you know how to use it in your favor. And last but not least I think college is becoming obsolete, however don't let that stop you from reaching your dreams and ambitions. At the end of the day knowledge is a precious gift and college can give you that if your willing to play your role and not take that gift for

    Read More

  • Life after high school

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    I’ve just entered my senior year of high school. I know that this is a very important year. I have a lot of decisions to make and not much time to make them. These decisions will either make or break my life, and I want to make sure that I make them to the best of my ability because there is no turning back. I need to make sure I definitely want to attend college. The decision is totally up to me. There are many positives and negatives of attending college. Go over them, and then decide. I know myself better then anyone else, and I won’t let anyone else tell me what to do. I will make sure if I am going to attend college that I have something in mind that I will want to do, to succeed in. Choosing a major can be a very stressful situation so why not sit down and take some time to do it? Be creative, don’t rush, give yourself plenty of time and really think about what interests you in life. My major is something that I will want to enjoy, something that I will be doing for the rest of my life. Why would I want to be miserable at something I do in life? In two short essays: “College? What’s in It for me?” by Steven M. Richardson, and “What It Means to Be Creative”, by S.I. Hayakawa, I can relate to my major very well. Athletic Training is something that takes skill, as well as being creative in your own way. No two Athletic Trainers are the same. The more creative I am at whatever I do, the better off I will be. I hold the keys to all the doors that can ...

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech: Thank You!

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin something new, you must sacrifice something old. To enter the real world, you must graduate your childhood.

    Read More

  • Graduation Speech : High School Journey

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Good afternoon everyone. Friends, family, staff members, honored guests and fellow graduates. On behalf of the Grad Class of 2016, we were selected by our class to give some parting words. Today is our day. After thirteen years of knowing only these walls around us, our time here has come to an end. We are officially stepping forward into our futures. No longer united on one path, as we are now branching off on our own, taking our own paths.

    Read More

More about Graduation Speech: Life's Defining Moments

Open Document