Well, seniors, here we are. It is time for us to "take on the world" as the popular Christian song states. Not only are we going to be responsible for taking on the world in the near future, but we will also be responsible for many, many other things. Just what we need, right? Well, think about it. New college classes, new jobs, new friends, possibly new spouses in the slightly distant future, new rug-rats in the more distant future. I don't know about you, but the idea of the world giving that much responsibility to someone like -- you fill in the blank -- scares me severely. Are we going to make it? If so, how? To help answer these questions, we needn't look any further than one of the greatest of our new obligations: the encouragement of one another.
Now before you write me off as a lunatic or a "softy" (or both), think on the word I just used. Encouragement. Webster says that to encourage is "to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope;" but these are just mere words, right? How can a dictionary express the meaning of something that can change a person's life in a moment or lift someone from the abyss of despair to that wonderful feeling of being loved and needed? I can tell you truthfully that without the daily encouragement that I get from those around me, I would not be standing before you this evening. These people include my parents, my friends, my teachers, anyone who is able to say a nice world to me to inspire me to do my best and keep going. All of you must have experienced some form of encouragement in your lives or else you wouldn't be joining me on this football field to celebrate our completion of high school.
My point is this: Encouragement is one of the most powerful forces that can be unleashed on this planet. Here's a little list of things that can be accomplished without encouragement ... Fairly short list, isn't it? I do not have a list of the things that are possible with encouragement because the use of that much paper would be environmentally devastating. You get the picture. We need encouragement and we need it as often as possible. Just like the air we breathe, if we lack encouragement in our lives we often feel suffocated. Are you getting enough of it in your life, or are you suffocating?
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.
Support: We should bear in mind that a positive attitude can make our life more hopeful.
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote, "You are a very special person - become what you are." These words encourage us, the graduating class of 2012, to recognize the goodness and potential in each and every one of us and to go out and excel in the world. We are a diverse group of different aspirations and backgrounds, bound for different corners of the earth to carve out our won individual niches. Before we leave behind Lee Falls High School and each other, we must ask ourselves how we have become who we are.
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:
Motivational slogans appear everywhere, it seems. Printed on water bottles, or painted in murals, or perhaps even sewn onto T-shirts, enthusiastic flags display themselves wherever the eye might look. One particular saying that has become quite popular reads, “live life to the fullest.” Average teenagers see it so often that they become callous to the truth of this simple, cliché saying. For God did indeed create humans to live their lives to the fullest and to enjoy their Creator's marvelous gift of life, and in doing so to give glory to Him who made all things. Unfortunately, the majority of the population rush through their nerve-wracked days; speeding from one thing to the next in order to climb higher on the social ladder as they disregard
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!
Students, faculty, family, friends, on this exciting day, I speak to optimism, laughter, and grins.
As you inhale the aggregate odor of your senior class for the last time, I’m sure there are many burning questions racing through your minds: “Will I find my place in the world?” If you’re lucky. “Am I really going to graduate a virgin?” Yeah, probably. “Who is that incredibly handsome young man addressing us, and how long do we have the privilege of listening to him?” Howdy, Andrew Gonzales here, and hopefully not long; I realize that your robes are making you sweat, your thongs are making you uncomfortable, and my use of the words “virgin” and “thongs” is making your parents sweaty and uncomfortable.
A boy once approached Socrates with the desire to obtain wisdom. Without saying a word, Socrates led the boy down to the edge of the sea and walked in, beckoning him to follow. When they were standing waist deep in the water, Socrates pushed the boy down, completely submerging his head. He held him thus for a couple of minutes, until the boy was almost to the point of death, before letting him up. Sputtering and angry, the boy demanded to know why Socrates had held him underwater for so long. In response, Socrates asked, "when you were under the water, what did you want more than anything in the world?"
Before I begin, I would like to tender my thanks to all of the people who have come here tonight. I would also like to apologize for what may seem an unorthodox speech, but I feel so strongly, that I must speak.
Someone very special in my life once told me, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off of your goals." Upon entering high school four years ago, the majority of us had one goal and only one goal in mind, graduation. Many of us have heard people say that high school is the best time of our lives, so we better enjoy it. With that in mind, we thought that the next four years were going to be a breeze and before we knew it we would be out of here. Well, that is when reality hit us ...
There is nothing more enticing than the company of those who radiate a spirit of genuine positivity. These people become important to us as we strive to become like them. When we submerge ourselves in an atmosphere that is contaminated with negativity we leave empty and unfulfilled. Therefore, the attitude we embrace has the power to determine just how far we go.
Ensuite, Jenny nous montre qu’un simple encouragement peut impacter la vie des autres pour toujours. Lorsqu’on incite les gens à travailler plus et à faire des efforts en ayant confiance dans leurs capacités on obtient d’excellents résultats.
It is probably a mistake that I am standing here giving a speech for graduation. In fact it is probably a mistake that I am even graduating from this school at all -- believe me, just as most people in this class I have tested the limits of attendance, of sleeplessness, and of procrastination. At the beginning of my high schooling, I was even testing dropping out ... and if that wasn't a mistake, I don't know what was. After four years of Starr altering our minds, it seemed most fitting for me to spend my four minutes talking about mistakes. Thank goodness for them, by the way -- it is only when we truly screw up big time that we are ever stopped in our tracks -- stopped, briefly, to learn lessons of worth.
My coworkers at every job always say “you’re the most positive person I know”. I’m thinking if they only knew. I wasn’t always like this; I use to be the most miserable, depressed, disillusioned person in the room, and I still have bad days but I know how to feel, deal and keep my expectations real. There comes a time in a person’s life when their given an opportunity to make an impact on their life or a life of another and sometimes that impact is as simple as a few words or a sentence. I had that someone and those few words to change my life. Now I live as a positive influence for others. My impact on people is through guidance. We can address poverty, abuse, illness, but it cannot be successfully eradicated without optimal mental determination. You can give a person food, shelter, clothing an education but if they are not psychologically able to grasp or understand the opportunity before them, chances of success are unlikely.