Graduation Speech : High School

I have been going to school since I was four years old and, that means that I have been attending school twenty to twenty two years, including kindergarten, middle school, high school and now college. As every student, I had my ups and downs in school; I had some failures and some successes. One of the failures that affected me the most and that I will always remember was the time that I was in high school during my junior year. I failed almost all my classes and, I only passed two classes and with a C. In the other hand I had some really good success. The most recent one and the one that I am still happy about is getting my Family Development Credential. We learn from our mistakes and also from our successes, these two times in my life

Many individuals believe that attending college directly after high school is a life changing experience This stance can hold true for many reasons regarding the positive aspects for the completion of a college degree. Students should attend college directly after high school because they are more experienced and have great opportunities and benefits rather than waiting to go later on in life.

High school is supposed to be the place where you have fun and a time in your life you’re supposed to enjoy. Movies often trick you into believing that high school is an amazing time in your life and there is nothing but parties and fun. In Bring it on, they portrayed the fun and exciting part of high school cheer-leading, however they intentionally leave out the tough times high school students’ face in school and in their practices. In other popular movies, such as High School Musical the students have no pressures other than the next basketball game. In reality, this doesn 't happen. The constant pressure is affected by the grade level you are in. In high school, students can be classified based on the pressures that are faced in each grade level into the categories of freshman, sophomores/juniors, and seniors. I am here to help you make your high school experience less stressful.

“Congratulations! You have been accepted to Bentley University for fall of 2015!” Words could not express how ecstatic this message made me. As soon as the acceptance email popped up on my phone, I screamed, dropped my backpack, and sprinted over to my track and field teammates to celebrate this triumphant occasion. After years of challenging AP courses, eleven seasons of tiring school sports, and countless extracurricular clubs, I finally felt like all of my hard work had paid off. At that moment, the only thought in my head was “I’m going to Bentley!” My dream — an aspiration I’ve had since my freshman year of high school — was becoming a reality.

Many people have different high school experiences or stories about when they finally felt like a highschooler or felt like they belonged. Some people might not even have had that experience yet and are still trying to belong at Wahlert Catholic High School. Personally, I have had many experiences when I finally felt like a high schooler. Such as my first year playing on the Wahlert Freshman Baseball team, talking to upperclassmen, my first year playing on the Wahlert Freshman Basketball team, or all of the times cheering in the Wahlert Volleyball, Football, and Basketball Eagle’s Nest. But, one experience truly stands out in particular, the school-wide pep rally for homecoming week.

As a freshman in high school, school was my least favorite place to be and I also dislike going to class. My grades were inadequate by the time I was a sophomore. Toward the end of my sophomore year I met Dawn Pollman Kivlehan who is a teacher at Fowler High School. She is the head of the ESL (English as a Second Language) department. Mrs. Kivlehan was born and raised in Syracuse, New York and lived in a neighborhood called Tipperary Hill. She enjoyed in spending time with her family, listening to music and watching Fowler soccer. She had a bad habit of drinking Diet Pepsi every morning. I remember every morning she drinks Pepsi. She played field hockey in college and basketball in her early age. Her eyes changes color depending on the clothes she wears and, then green when she’s upset. Mrs. Dawn is fashionable during the week she always dressed up except Fridays. Friday she wears her soccer t-shirts. (She really loves wearing sweatpants after work). Dawn Pollman Kivlehan is hardworking, helpful, and very beloved teacher. (I can really say that she is one of the hardest working person I know)

While a necessary step in any dedicated academic’s life, the graduation of high school is not always a cakewalk to accomplish. With the obstacle of mental illness in my way, I found the task of graduating high school and moving on to college to be a mammoth that I felt not healthy enough to conquer. In the second half of my high school career, I found myself in physical and mental states so poor that I missed approximately one third of my desk hours in my junior year. The possibility of returning to school, let alone graduating with my class, seemed bleak.

When I was in high school I wanted to be like everybody else. I wanted to fit in and meet some new friends. With meeting new friends I met the good ones and the bad ones. What I didn’t realize at that time was the bad ones were only going to bring me down and make me skip school.

Society then and now is filled with people that chase their dreams of being famous, smart, or a pro sport competitor. What separates those who succeed and fail is the amount of dedication they put in, whether or not it started early in their life. For me it began when I was a freshman in high school. I was very active in playing in the marching and concert band. I played the saxophone and impressed a few other students during class. About a week later, after my class period ended, two friends of mine came up to me and suggested that I try out for the show choir band. I asked what it was and found out that it was a band playing with a singing and dancing choir. I was not at all hesitant to say yes and I remember having to ask my mom if it was okay that I was trying out for the band and she surprisingly said yes. I was filled with excitement being offered an opportunity like that and so I quickly walked to the choir room after the school day was over, played my audition piece, and in the end I made the band. Later on I talked to a few of my other friends from band and encouraged them to try out and so they did. They all ended up making the band as well and so the beginning of a new show choir band began. Once all of the try outs were concluded my friends and I were all given a schedule and informed when the first practice was. I looked at the schedule thinking that practices were not going to be long, but looking at the first practice made me realize that this band is going to

It is often believed that during high school, everyone changes, wither it’s in a good way or a bad way, we all change. I was that typical high school cheerleader that didn’t care about her grades, I just wanted to have fun with friends and brush by school with C’s, but I was okay with it during those times.

When children start off school they’re exited to go learn, meet new friends, and experience what school is really about. As they go into their middle school environment starts to change. Girls and boys going through changes, asking many questions because they want to know. By the time students enter high school, they’re unsure of what they want to do in life and that’s completely understandable. When they have reached their senior year in high school and they still don’t know what they plan on doing in life, that’s when they decide to graduate from high school, but not continue with their education because they are undecided on the career path they want to take. In 2013 about 65.9 percent of high school graduates enrolled in a post-secondary educational program, whether it be a community college or university. High school doesn’t prepare students for college, that’s why most students don’t make it past their first semester in college. High school students still have much to learn and when they make the transition from high school to a 4 year university it overwhelms them.

In 2010, Grant High School, set out to improve (Lambertson 42-43). This school quickly went from being in the worst 5% of schools in Michigan to the superior 92% (Lambertson 43-45). This school poured effort into its programs to try to bring up test grades (Lambertson 42-45). Amazingly, Grant High School brought its average ACT score up 2.4 points in around three years (Lambertson 45). However, in the end, was this school successful? Were its students prepared to succeed?

In most jobs, when you apply there are requirements that you need to be able to be even considered a good candidate for the job and be hired. Did you graduate high school? Do you have a college degree? A 3.00 GPA or above? Previous experience for at least two years? Most guardians tell you to work hard in school to have a bright future. If you want to find a good job they suggest you to look what are the requirements to be able to even be consider. When you start high school in some schools they have already assigned you to who you will end up been. If you got high school credits when still in middle school then you are advanced you go in a certain group. The teachers always tell you what you need to be able to attend a University. The teacher do not advertise students to start at a community college but are constantly reminding you how important is to have a higher education. The high school institutions has allowed the negative stereotypes about the students that attend community colleges because they contribute to the negativity tours does students. This stereotypes lead to discrimination.

Your educational path has been set out for you since before you even were entered into it. First, you were preparing for preschool, preschool prepared you for kindergarten, kindergarten prepared you for elementary school, elementary school prepared you for middle school, middle school prepared you for high school, and high school is supposed to prepare you for college. But, ask the majority of high school seniors right now and they’ll more than likely tell you they’re not feeling very ready for college. High school is known as college preparation, but it is actually nothing like it. High school has teachers who are more worried about standardized test scores than anything else, starts at 8:25 when studies show students shouldn’t even be awake then, sets your 7.5 hour block of classes without breaks, and only gives you a week of vacation at most. Whereas college does just about none of these things.

The teenage years a is time in which high school students are faced with important decisions and are becoming young adults. This is an important transition in life. Post-secondary education is critical, as a matter of fact, it is a credential crucial for economic success; inevitably, in some cases, it is the opposite. As pressure intensifies near the end of high school, it is essential for students to unconventionally take time off school -- not learning -- before proceeding on to postsecondary education, to ensure a promising future.