Graduation Speech - Original Writing

Nine years ago, I never could have imagined I’d be writing this essay. I was a senior in high school, and, like the rest of my classmates, I was apprehensive about the future. Unlike my classmates, I felt like I had missed the proverbial “you need to get your life together” message. I watched my classmates apply to colleges, their majors already decided and their future careers mapped out. While I was an above average student, I felt I lacked the decisiveness my classmates seemed to have. I did not feel passionate about a career or even a field of study. I felt defective. This was compounded by the financial strain I knew attending college would have on my family. It seemed wasteful to try to “find my passion” at school while squandering

The classroom was cold. My chair was squeaky and my ear plugs kept coming out. Breathing in and out, counting to ten and deciding to keep moving on. None the less I had 60

I walked over to where me, and Frank sat he was picking at some tape on the desk impatiently. "Hey." I sat down, he smiled, "Hey Gee!" Frank smiled, "Can 't wait for music!" He said excitedly, I chuckled. His favorite class was music, which we had after gym. I only have three classes with Frank, but I have all my classes with Ray. He can be a bitch, but he 's a bitch who 's my best friend.

Every time I go out on a stage I look at the small piece of paper in my music folder, one with hand written words that now hold so much meaning to me. I think all the way back to the first time I sang in front of an audience and of the complete and utter disaster that it was. However, I also think of how far I have come. It all started in fourth grade when my school had their annual school talent show. I had sang in the church choir with a group of around twenty other kids, but this was different. I had practiced my song multiple times over, and had asked my friend to play the piano while I sang. The day I walked into the school will never leave my memory. It was so tense you could taste the anticipation in the air. I walked in and sat in my seat where I memorized the student I would come up after. Time seemed to speed up impossibly fast, and the next moment I was being called onto the stage. The only sound I could hear was the pound of my heart, and my friend fuzzily asking in the background, “Do you want to go a cappella when I turn the pages?” I nodded agreeably because I did not want her to know I did not know what the word meant. Now I know it’s meaning is “without instrumental music” ("A Cappella."). Too soon, we were standing on the stage, and I had started to sing the song. I thought everything was going well until it came time for her to turn the page and she stopped playing. I waited patiently as she waited for me to sing. We were both waiting, and the only sound

As I grew up I constantly spelled out my brother’s name backwards, instead of CHRIS I spelled it SIRHC or I would say things such as, “noodles spaghetti”. I assumed it was standard for kids my age. A few years later, during my first few years in school, my teacher explained to my mom that there was a high possibility that I was dyslexic. Due to this, that same teacher moved me into a slower class; a class intended for intellectually disabled students. Although the students in the classroom were lovely, I was furious that I was branded as “incompetent” or “sluggish”. After a few hours of analyzing this unexpected change, I panicked and decided that I needed to construct a plan that would get me back into the “regular” classroom. As soon as I got home that day I sat at the dinner table and read book after book. I read everything from my school books to cereal labels; I was determined to be placed back into the “regular” classroom. It took a few months, but after studying hours and hours with my helpful and optimistic mother I was placed back into the “regular class”.

The morning was as clear as glass. The sun shined through my window, waking me up from my sleep. The air tasted like water, as if I was tasting the Earth. I sat up to put on my slippers and walked to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and dressed to get ready for summer school today. I recently started, so I don’t especially know my way around. At the same time, I never wanted to go to summer school, but my teacher said it is mandatory to go, or I will get held back from grade level. Now that I finished getting ready, I walked out from the bathroom to the kitchen.

I still remember coming home from school when I was six years old saying, “Mommy, I’m so happy that now boys and girls are equal.” We had just learned about how things used to be and I was happy we had come so far. But I remember being eight and getting in trouble for yelling at a boy in my class. It didn’t matter that he had called me stupid, all my teacher said was “Boys will be boys, but good girls don’t fight back.” And then at ten years old I remember walking around with my family, hearing words I had never heard before screamed out of cars at me, not knowing what they meant, but knowing that whatever they meant wasn’t right. I remember my mother telling me I couldn’t wear that dress anymore, because she didn’t want people

BEEEEPP… BRRR… BEEP…BRRRRRR! My room flashed in front of me, quickly then disappeared. The morning sun peeked through my translucent curtains. Shadows of dancing branches appeared on my white walls. I woke up panicked at the sound of an alarm I had forgotten to turn off the previous night. How stupid could I be, forgetting to turn off an alarm clock attached to my own chest! Saturday morning and awake at 6 A.M, really?! I forced my eyes shut, but no use. After several attempts to get both feet on the ground, I began my day doing things I don’t usually do (12 P.M is my usual routine). Hmmmm? Six hours ahead of my weekend routine, what to do? After a quick breakfast of my usual free range sunny side up eggs, I got out for an early morning jog, quite a rarity to see me out on the streets at this time. I put on my shoes, and enjoyed the rest of my morning with music.

The day I had eagerly been anticipating for 10 lengthy months, finally came. The sun was beaming. A nice breeze was flowing. Yet another perfect summer day, but something was peculiar. It felt as if I had just rolled up a ball of all my stress and tossed it aside. The moment I came home from school, I flopped on my bed and my eyelids instantly slid. I had just finished a laborious grade 8 and an exceedingly stressful week of final exams. I couldn’t help but succumb to sleep after countless days of near all-nighters due to studying and homework. Unfortunately, I woke up to my parents calling me to dinner. Little did I know that this was my call to adventure.

Back in the 8th grade, I remember coming home from school hearing the loud yelling behind the closed doors of the master bedroom. At that time shouting and yelling was quite common in the household, especially during the late night. Going to sleep, knowing your parents might get divorced soon, didn’t make my life easier. Without all the commotions, the house felt deserted. It was very quiet, my brother and sister were away studying abroad in London and Sydney respectively getting their undergraduate degree. Having two people, whom I always look up to for guidance and inspiration, across the world didn’t help my situation. I could tell that my parents missed them very much, the only time you would see both my parents smiling together is when they were on the phone with either one of my siblings. My best friend told me to find a ‘game changer’, a method of escaping all negative emotions by engaging in an activity that would bring one complete peace and solace. For him, it was the guitar and alternative rock music. Although playing video games with my headphones on in my empty bedroom did temporarily help me get rid of my anxiety, it was no game changer.

I hurried going to the class, Mrs.Vodcal my teacher was still not here so I got into my seat as quick as I could because Mrs. Vodcal made student who were late stand on one foot for the rest of the class, and if they couldn 't stay one one foot then they would have detention for a week! Then so of my classmates got up and walked around to talk to their friends then more kids got up. Suddenly Mrs. Vodcal came in the door.

I sat on my bed, casually waiting for my mom to hurry and take me to school. The air smelled like the fish market from across the street. Cars were honking outside and the babies from upstairs were screaming at the top of their lungs.

It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop. -Confucius

In the back seat, intently listening to the words coming through the speakers, what is this I hear? Something so soulful, full of emotion, and life, it 's as if I entered into another dimension, floating on a cloud of serenity. This feeling abruptly ended with a goodbye kiss as I prepare to enter the school building. I was enjoying my early morning schedule, learning about simple mathematics, how to get along with my peers, playing at recess, but I couldn 't wait to get lost again, leave the earthly realm with this wonderful sound of instruments and voices, ever so quietly coming through my mother’s car speakers. The final bell rings, my heart throbs with joy, I get to ride home.

Have you ever moved before? Have you ever had to say “goodbye” to a best friend, and you knew you were never coming back? Well, I have. I have many times, in fact. But, this time was different. Here’s how it all began.