Graduation Speech Essay

WOW! So much has happened since June. The SV FFA and ag department had a rough start to our year losing three of our students who were on the FFA officer team to other schools. Even with this bump in the road, the four officers that remained visited Mt. Shasta City and had a blast bonding and learning more about each other at their officer retreat in August. Once school started we found three new officers and attended COLC (Chapter Officer Leadership Conference) where the entire team learned about their diverse leadership styles and were able to bond together as the official Surprise Valley FFA Chapter Officer Team for the 2017-2018 school year. If you see them around, congratulate President Cindy Hinze, V.P. Maddison Seely, Secretary Maya

Approximately four years ago, as a united group, the Class of 2017 attended its first day of high school. I recall eagerly waiting with drenched palms for the bus to usher me to my first class. Hopefully, I wasn’t the only one. But as the months and the years passed

Well, this is it, the day all of us have been waiting for has finally arrived. It seems like only yesterday we were picking our noses and flicking them at innocent bystanders or yelling childish phrases like, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" or, wait, that was yesterday. Never mind. Anyways.

In four years, this class has grown from a group of awkward, unsure teenagers into caring, mature, confident adults. Every one of us has endured our own personal struggles. We have cried over boyfriends and girlfriends, fought unmercifully with our parents, crammed for Dr. B's notorious mid-terms, and sunk into the depths of severe senioritis. Separately, we have survived the painful life that is teenagerhood. Together, however, as a class we have managed to attain a level of excellence unsurpassed by any other. The kind, accepting, forgiving, eager, willing and energetic qualities that our class proudly possesses set us apart as a group with irrepressible spirit. Just by doing what we do, and being who we are, this class has touched the lives of both students and staff. Perhaps without even knowing it, this class of 2006'a presence has made Billwood High School a better place. The impressions this class has made, I believe, has even inspired other students to strive for greatness. And in that way, our class will live on forever. We are to Billwood as Braveheart was to Scotland.

The Class of 2012. How long have we heard these words applied to us? Long years starting with broken crayons in kindergarten to inside-out sweatshirts in middle school to late English essays — 13 years of learning from the simplest counting to complicated algebra and calculus, from reciting our ABCs to reading Shakespeare. Imagine, us coming out of our respective middle schools into this monster of a campus. With three times as many people — people who drive. People who have cars and are legal adults. We’ve been here for four years. Count the quarters: there are 16 of them.

A wise person once said something to this effect: "Quotes are just another way of masking one's true feelings." I'd tell you the person who wrote it, but I can barely even remember it word for word. It's funny I crossed paths with this quote just days before I was informed I would be speaking at commencement. Someone or something, maybe a higher power, meant for this quote and I to meet. The irony of the whole situation is that the author's quote was turned into a quote, which is most likely the opposite of their intentions.

I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to the class of 2012. I greatly appreciate sharing my journey with you. I believe the greater the difficulty, the greater the glory and the glory is what we celebrate tonight.

I did not get to know many of you. So, I cannot be certain of how you feel, but, as for me, this year has been, by far, the most enjoyable and eye opening one of my high school career. Enjoyable because of the new, interesting friends I've made and of the fun times I've had, and eye opening because of my being forced to look towards the future. Not just day dreaming and imagining about the rest of my life, but finally having to sit down and make some definite decisions concerning it. For me and many of you, colleges have had to be applied for and decided on and scholarships filled out. Some of you have been looking into vocational schools or the military, while others will be going straight into the work force. Whatever your case may be,

A couple weeks ago, I was attempting to clean my room when I unearthed an old yearbook from my days in middle school. Rather absentmindedly I opened the book to browse through it. However, before long I became immersed in the memories brought back to life and quickly lost track of time. Over an hour later, I set the book aside and marveled at how much had changed since then. Not only had people changed physically, but they had also changed their friends, habits and behaviors. Furthermore, we have all grown as a result of the changing world around us, a changing world that has witnessed the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the constant birth of new technologies which make our lives easier. These changes have shaped

When they were trying to find someone to give this speech they first asked the most intelligent, smart person they could find. But she turned them down. So then they asked the most beautiful, lovely, attractive person they could find. She also turned them down. Next they asked the nicest, sweetest, kindest, most sincere person they could find. Then I decided it would be rude to turn them down three times in a row, so here I am.

Class of 2012, tonight is the last time we will share together for many years. After tonight, we will begin a new chapter in our lives. This chapter will lead us away from each other, but the memories we've shared will continue to stay. The years behind us have been full of challenges and rewards; these experiences will be there to guide us as we branch out into the world.

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 high school I had one goal, I would graduate top of my class and go to the University of Florida for pre-medicine, then onto their medical school. I never considered that I would want anything else, so I went to a specialty high school that would allow me to specialize in Biomedical sciences(STEM) and never even thought about the possibility of a life other than the one I had so precisely planned out for myself. When my nephews were born my sophomore year all of my priorities changed. I cared more about hearing their first words than attending my BioMed classes, and more about going to mommy and me days, than spending a day in the clinic working on beat up football players. I became so entranced with their little growing personalities that I shoved my goals to a back burner. By the time graduation rolled around I wasn 't failing by any means but my dreams of being valedictorian were long gone, and I felt like I needed to find a whole new life plan instead of trying to get back to the old one.

Are we there yet? Have we reached our destination? We've been traveling for 13 long years. We've only had a few brief rests along the way. We're tired and we're cranky and we just want to know, are we there yet?

Good evening, everyone. Now is the time for me to come in front of these 400 students in identical caps and gowns and tell them to go out and be individuals. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Seriously, though, consider what we've gone through. 13 years of schooling, 18 years of growing up! And reflecting back on these years, what do we have to show for it? We have our memories. Some of you may know the old saying, "Knowledge is not what the pupil remembers but what he cannot forget." What will remain in our minds after tonight? What memories will become those valuable gems of unforgettable knowledge?