Graduation Speech Essay

Getting here was a bumpy ride but thanks to all the lessons, guidance, and knowledge the teachers shared with us, the joy that we shared with each other, and the values our parents have taught us, we are able to be where we are now!

When I was younger, I would often return home to a familiar question: So, what did you learn today? My answer would always be "nothing" or "stuff." As I look back, I never lied, yet, I never told the whole truth. Many people think that you don't know anything with only 18 years of experience; I think they're wrong. I've learned a lot about myself and others from the relationships I have built throughout the years. I believe my most important lessons were "people" lessons. Those are the ones which could never be taught out of a book or in a lecture; you have to go out and experience them for yourself.

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

On the first day of school, I was so confused and alone. I had no one to sit with at lunch, and I felt lost. I wasn’t used to the curriculum, or all the people I never knew existed. Townsend Junior High School was bigger than the small

Eisenhower High School has shaped me into the women that I am today. At first, the transfer from private to public middle school was difficult. I did not know what to expect from public schooling. Immediately, I was met with friendly faces and extraordinary teachers. When the time came for me to decide if I would attend a private high school or Eisenhower High School I didn’t hesitate on my decision. Since my first day walking through the newly renovated Eisenhower halls, I knew I had found my home for the next four years.

Vividly, I can remember walking through the high school doors for the first time as a freshman with shaky legs and a nervous heartbeat. The school was a jungle of wide, shiny hallways filled with lumbering seniors who I thought were going to knock my books down on Freshman Friday. However, time has passed, and now I find myself to be the tall and “scary” senior. As I ponder about the last four years I have spent at Little Falls Community High School, I can not help but realize how much I have changed for the better. As I have matured, I have gleaned that beauty does not come through makeup and clothing brands, but rather through processing a good heart. Also, I have changed my career and college plans after high school, and I know that I will

For better or worse, some of us received an appreciable education thanks to our faculty. I personally wasn't deeply affected by the teacher turnovers so I respect those students who managed to thrive during this ordeal. Rather than dwell on these issues, we managed and overcame these problems and I believe that we are prepared to move on and to take on whatever challenges come next in

The year of 2012, I entered Red Oak High School as an adolescent who was fearful to walk down the hallway. The individual I was my freshman year compares nothing to the individual Red Oak has shaped me into today. During each passing day of my years as a student at Red Oak High School I failed to recognize how much had transformed me. The community, teachers, and coaches have formed me into someone who’s ready to strive and fulfill goals.

At Cataldo, I have realized that school isn’t just about learning subjects like math, science, history, and English. It’s about learning life skills that will benefit us throughout our lives’. We have learned the basic, “everybody makes mistakes and you have to learn to forgive those errors,” and to not be afraid to be ourselves and how to stand up for what we believe in. We have learned how to move on such as from grade to grade every year, but today we are ready to move on to something bigger, high

Edgar Allan Poe once said, "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

I once read that life is well represented as a pearl deep within an oyster. The pearl symbolizes each person's potential, or the things that are going well for them in life. Just as a mere grain of sand that enters an oyster can grow into something of great worth, there is a fragment of excellency within every one of you that over time can be shape you into an individual who will make a difference in the world.

The dream that I had since the second grade was denied, and I felt that I was a failure. But I quickly decided that this was a dream I was not going to give up on, and I decided to reapply. My love of history has taught me many lessons, but the lesson that has had the most impact on me is that history favors those who will not give up. It is the final words of James Lawrence, that hangs in Memorial Hall, that inspired me to not give up on my dream. The motto “don’t give up the ship” convinced me that my dream was not worth giving up and that I should continue to strive towards my goal.

We thank our counselors for being more than schedule-makers, the people who gave us advice through high school and wished for our best and our nurses who were there for us when we felt sick.

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.

[Go up with Senior Homecoming t-shirt and hold up front and back so everyone can see]