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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.
For the past 13 years of our education we have been on a journey - a journey full of experiences, challenges and accomplishments. We have made it through elementary, middle and high school. It hasn't always been what we expected and certainly not easy, but as we progressed down the road, we stretched ourselves to reach across barriers and found ourselves in new and expanding roles. We were given the opportunity to explore our interests and discover what really excites us. We have become more independent and complete individuals. Our growth and self-discovery has placed us here tonight.
Tonight we stand at a crossroad where each one of use will take a new direction in our life's journey. Walt Whitman said "Not I - not anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself." Where we end up isn't the most important decision, but instead it is the road we choose to take to get there. The road we take is what we will look back on and call our life. Life is a journey of everyday experiences, teaching us moment in, moment out, who we really are. It's important to remember these words "Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late."
And so we find ourselves ready and eager to move on. We take with us the strength and knowledge we've gained through our interactions, encounters, challenges and accomplishments at school and at home with parents, teachers and friends. Remember life is not a race but a journey to be enjoyed each step of the way. I leave you with these words from the mountain climber John Amatt: "Adventure isn't hanging on a rope off the sides of a mountain.
Good evening family, friends, teachers and fellow graduates. This special night marks our achievement over the past thirteen years. Tonight we come to the top of a mountain in our lives and look ahead to the numerous more to come. It seems like just yesterday we were eighth graders in middle school, wishing we were twelfth graders in high school. (You have to remember that back then we didn't know if a freshman meant you were in twelfth grade or if a junior meant you were in ninth.) We've definitely come a long way to be where we are today. Being students at Wilson, "The School of Pride," has helped us all with our climb over Mt. Education. Learning the basics to climb Mt. Education didn't just start in high school; it began a long, long time ago. Our first experience with the climb started out in our six years of base camp, formally known as elementary school. The next stage in our climb was when we were able to climb the part of the mountain with the gentle slope. The smooth slope of the mountain took us a whole three years to accomplish. As you have probably guessed, the gentle slope was middle school. These were the steps we took to get to our third stage in our climb of reaching the peak of Mt. Education, also known as high school.
Class of 2012, we've finally made it, but not without the help of our parents, teachers and mentors along the way. Maybe what they did for us was that they were a good rudder and we're the ship, and they got us to the sea where we remember who we are. Because we all get in that fog, where we forget who we are or what we're about, we get overwhelmed. I mean I've been there plenty of times in my life. But we're not going to remember most of our lives until the end. But we will remember certain moments. Maybe it's our first 4.0 report card, maybe it's our first 100 percent biology test, maybe it's our first homerun, our first touchdown. Whatever it may be, it will stay with us forever. Many of us have been together through elementary, middle and high school, and we have all had to work hard and remain focused to be where we are today. All change happens in a minute. Your life changes in a moment. Something triggers you and you finally make a decision and it all shifts. As years go by, your body is going to change, your relationships are going to change, your attitude is going to change. Change is automatic, but progress is not. Our progress has brought us here tonight, and tonight will become one of those moments that we will cherish forever.
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.
I close this essay with a message to anyone who may be reading this or even have the same troubles as me. Life will always throw challenges in your way, you will be lost at times and even scared to death. But in the end you will prevail. “Each day of life is a gift, that is why it is called the present”
Some of us may think we've reached the end of our learning but the truth is, we have not;
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?"
There is a distinct difference between knowledge and wisdom. I can tell you that as honor society president I have seen many smart people do stupid things. Let's just say that mixing a very large lunch with a bobbing ship and an admissions officer from the University of California equals a vomitous situation.
Welcome to all of you who have come to share this special evening with us. My name is John and I am a member of the graduating class of 2012. Standing here tonight is a surprise to me and to many who knew me. At one point, after making some mistakes and losing my sense of self, I dropped out of school. With my parents’ urging me, I enrolled at Alternative High School. I came to this school with the hope that I’d graduate on time. I knew that I would have to change, so I set goals to achieve perfection and I achieved it. As many of you may know, I am now perfect in every way, shape, and form...
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.
Way back in the first few days of September in 1997, we all took our first steps onto the big campus of Conolon High School. For some of us it was exciting and exhilarating, for others it was scary and nerve wracking or even a little or very intimidating. Whatever the rush of emotions that came over us may have been, it was just the beginning. As lowly little Freshman, we had to adjust to high school life. Going from middle school to high school was a big transition whether we wanted to admit it or not. Some of us thought that the change would be easier if we got involved, so many joined athletics, leadership or a club or two; and then there were some that decided to just focus on their studies. Whichever path we decided to choose, we still had the same goal, to just fit in with everyone and start our long journey towards graduation.
Almost everyone is aware of the common belief that the journey is more important than the destination. However, this is more applicable than imagined. Journeys can help people find themselves in more ways than one. While they can be helpful, it does not mean that they will be easy. Journeys are meant to challenge people in different ways and to help them find a better self. Whether the journey is physical, emotional, or spiritual, there will be trials and times where more effort is necessary.
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
An anonymous author once said, "What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now." Over the course of my school years, it has been an exciting and shocking experience. These experiences have been an enjoyable journey from my elementary to middle school years. However, after several years the end of my middle school adventure is coming to a close. Soon my new journey will start as a freshman. Eight grade will surely be one of my most memorable years. It has been an absolute wonderful one hundred eighty days, and I will miss some of the aspects of eight grade—but certainly not all of it.
To begin something new, you must sacrifice something old. To enter the real world, you must graduate your childhood.
Graduation: the last day that I would unwillingly set foot on the fields of Horizon High School. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, and tried so hard to keep my feet moving one after the other in order to maintain my perfect stature. After the two hour wait of opening speeches, class songs, and the calling off of the five hundred plus names that were in front of me, it was finally my turn. As my row stood up and we walked towards the stage it had set in at last, this is it, I am done. My high school career ended on that night, but it didn’t close the book that is my life, it only started a new chapter, and with it came a whole slue of uncertainties.