Graduation Speech: Trimble Technical High School

Growing up, I’d always been expected to do well in school. Which isn’t out of the ordinary, every parent wants their child to be successful and have a beneficial career. So, since good grades were what my parents expected that’s what I got. All throughout elementary, I strived to do my absolute best in every subject. At my sixth grade graduation I was awarded the Presidential Award for Academic Achievement, in my junior high years I did well as well. My eighth-grade year I achieved my goal of obtaining a 4.0 G.p.a. The first year of high school was nerve-racking but I still managed to keep my grades up. However, Sophomore year was definitely a bump in the road for me. In all my ten years of being in school (including head start and kindergarten)

There were students from all around the world who had different cultures, religions, and hardships. I perceived that high school is a race, a race where I can run at my own pace and my goals are the prize. I entered an environment where the opportunities were endless and I was allowed to accomplish whatever I want. My confidence began to flourish. I started involving myself in school work and began to participate in class. During my sophomore year, I engaged in numerous group activities such as the school play, science competition team, and advanced arts. I earned respect and developed a reputable character in school. I reached a milestone in my journey during junior year when I was inducted into the National Honors Society, played varsity tennis and became class

I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced a tremendous amount of success and opportunity throughout my life. I had always performed well in school, I took advanced courses, I got into the private high school my mother went to, and because my parents owned a little Thai restaurant since I was four, I had an extracurricular that taught me people skills and offered me more work experience than any of my peers had. When I realized that I was exceeding the expectations of my parents and those around me, I became content with not reaching my full potential. It was until much later that I realized that adopting that mindset was where I went wrong. When my high school decided not to accept me into the National Honor Society during my junior year, I was devastated.

Walking into school on my first day of high school, I felt out of place. My face covered in acne, my teeth covered in braces, and the callicks in my hair stuck up through the abnormally thick layer of hair gel that coated them. My middle school social anxiety still ruled over me as I could barely speak with any member of the opposite sex. Yet, I still had an odd confidence about me. I had always been one of the best students in my class, even without ever studying for a test. I viewed high school as a slight uptick from the curriculum I had easily passed in middle school. I was wrong. High school exists as a microcosm of society, in which I originally failed to acclimate myself to the challenges posed to me in a setting of increased

Starting high school, I was not a perfect student. However, over the past three years, it is clear that my grades have drastically improved. Whether it was adjusting to AP classes or balancing extracurricular activities and homework, I became proficient at handling the twists and turns of high school. By smoothing out my rough edges, I have become a student with distinct goals and a strong work ethic. Having experienced both low and high ends of academic success, my abilities and mindset can be molded to any situation. I am confident that I have the talent, ambition, and the adaptive abilities to become part of a guaranteed

In the first day of high school, I began a new chapter in my life. I must say, the transition from Junior High to High School has been quite challenging for myself. Since the beginning of this new chapter, I have been forced to overcome many challenges that I never had to deal with in my junior high school such as the sheer volume of homework, disinterest in certain subject areas, and an ineffective use of time throughout all of my core subjects. However, I never gave up on myself and continued to improve my study habits and time management skills while motivating myself at the same time to never stop improving in spite of setbacks and downfalls I may have experienced in the past 2 months. By the same token, I knew that today hard work will

Like any other school there were the “cool” kids and the “not-so-cool” kids and like most people I longed for the feeling of fitting in. I tried so hard to buy the right clothes and to talk the right way. I became so caught up in my own life that I did not take a second to stop and think of someone other than myself. Last year, in eight grade, I had the chance to be apart of the “it” group, but during that time I lost myself. Peer pressure had pushed me into a corner where I was unable to think for myself and as a result I lost my ability to establish my character.

Once it was as a freshman, just my overstuffed backpack and me experiencing an environment radically different than anything I had been exposed to ever before. Later it was as a junior, frustrated with a lack of self-confidence. I was plagued with social anxiety, paranoid over the smallest issues and mortified by the prospect of being approached by someone in public. It was painful to check out of a convenience store by myself, let alone meet new people or strike up a conversation with strangers. I used to think that this was going to be my life; every social encounter would be like walking on glass. Finally, towards the spring of my junior year, I clawed my way out of that pit, and I realized that the world wasn’t out to get me. I forced myself to get outside of my comfort zone, and I’m incredibly proud of myself for making that leap. And with the encouragement and support from my friends at school, I ultimately learned that hard work and initiative are two of the most important virtues on the path to success. And this all stems from the personal connections I’ve made with my peers at school, with these relationships dictating the way I have matured and developed mentally.

My high school experiences have become imprinted into my memory and parts of me. I changed entirely from the first day I walked in as a freshmen to the last day I walked across the stage with my diploma. Not only do I look different, but I act, think, and understand differently. Our identities are a process of social encounters with different groups of people, contrasting systems, and self-defining moments that we face in high school. I realize now that an individual’s character is largely constructed by other people’s opinions, unwritten rules, and a subliminal hierarchy. The reality of high school makes it difficult to escape the ideal image of a perfect student, friend, respectful significant other, and model child. With all these different forces pulling students back and forth, the primary goal is to be accepted, despite how much change one must undergo. From my high school experiences I know how to deal with peer pressure, alienation, and cliques. Thus, my former high school social lessons and knowledge allow me to reshape my perception, values, and self-image to this day.

September 6th, 2012, the alarm goes off and my first thought is, "The summer is over, and, as my Dad always says, time to get back to reality." I get my uniform on, and look in the mirror to realize just what I was wearing; it was a high school uniform. It then hit me, today isn't just the first day of a new year, but the first day of high school. A million thoughts were racing to my head worrying about all the new people, on top of those from middle school, that I'll have to meet and try to fit in with, the classes, the teachers, and the very last thing I thought of, the extracurricular activities. My school discourages this "club" called the "2:25 club." This is what they refer to those who leave right after school as. I knew from day one that I did not want that title and, if I was going to wake up for an hour commute everyday, I was not just going to go to my classes and leave, no, I was going to do something to make each and every day worthwhile.

When I came back home to California from my last trip to Vietnam, I felt different. In the sense that I was more confident about who I was being that my eczema was beginning to clear up. However, I was still having a hard time making friends and here is when the warning sign of insecurity prevailed. As I entered into junior high, I started to notice that many girls at this age tend to be very concerned with other people’s looks and their actions. With that in mind, I made the worst mistake trying to fit in. Instead of expressing my individuality, I copied what others were doing. In other words, I faked it until I made it. Towards the end of eighth grade, I figured that I should not worry so much about fitting in with specific groups in middle school, but more so in a bigger place like high school. When freshman year finally came around, I was determined that everything was going to be much better. Instead of being negative and worrying about what other people did not like about me, I decided to embrace my flaws. Little did I know, this was the secret antidote I have been searching for all along. By learning to embrace my flaws and be proud of who I was, I was able to attract people who liked me for who I was. The first two years of high school ended up going by much better than I imagined. But within a blink of an eye, everything started had gotten worse unplanned. About two months into my junior year, many cliques started to form. Suddenly everyone who I knew was placed

I was one of the tallest people in my grade, and was super skinny. With my mild Cerebral Palsy, I had speech problems for a long time. Due to all of this, I didn’t exactly fit in. Every day as I walked in the doors, I would completely shut down. My grades fell, and I blocked most of the world out. I could here the “popular” groups whispering and giggling every time I walked in the hall and notes would be passed around in class. I sat at a table in the corner by myself, I didn’t have any friends in

Like many freshmen, I arrived at high school totally lost. Middle school had been fun, for sure, but I had never found my niche during those three years. I did not play a sport, I was not part of a tight-knit clique, and, while I had found a high degree of success in school, I was never the academic star of my class. Certainly I had friends and I enjoyed school, but no pursuit of passion had found me yet. Band was my saving grace—I truly believe that, if I had not joined band in the fifth grade, it would have taken me far longer to find my way in life. Even now, I am still feeling the walls for a light that will show me my path, but music and academics have guided me this far.

Be ready because 7th grade is going to be a wild ride! Be ready for tests, projects, and assignments galore! And on those assignments, just read them. I know, I know, everyone just skips to the questions and looks for the answers in the passage but in 7th grade it’s just better to read it. The teachers know, its like they have a 6th sense! As far as the cafeteria, the food is probably going to be the same, so just plug your nose and maybe the food will go down without a fight! When you’re going to gym, RUN! Well, don’t actually run, you might get in trouble and I would be to blame, but, seriously walk as fast as you can. You need to be there before anyone else so that you can change in a shower stall and be done with it. Adding to that, BRING