Braden Sigua
When it comes to a graduation speech, there are certain qualities people expect. There’s the big cliché statements, followed by the obligatory “now it’s cliché but it’s true” that follows promptly afterward. There’s the reminiscing back to the wonderful path we took these four years, there’s the jokes, and the references, but most importantly there’s the pressure, the pressure to say something extraordinary. To say something profound. And in an effort to create a completely original, inspiring, world changing graduation speech, it can turn out to be, well, the exact opposite. People expect, the unexpected. So how does one manage to write a speech, that’s good, but hasn’t been told before? The reality is, you can’t. I sat at my desk for hours, finding all these different ways to write the same speech, but no matter how I phrased it, I ended up sounding, well, unoriginal. You see everyone, I too, wish to give the unexpected speech, I too, wish to impart some lasting, farewell knowledge on you all. I too want to imbue, inspiration. And I came to the conclusion that if I want to say something profound, give a speech that means something, I have to be what I was trying to avoid. Completely, expected. So, let’s I want to do just that, and talk about what we expect here today.
Graduation! Something we’ve been waiting for, anticipating, expecting, for the past four years, maybe even longer. And now, we are about to have our names called, walk onto this stage, grab the diploma, shake some hands, take some pictures, and be on our merry way. That’s what we expect. But, what about after that? Well, you’ll work the summer, spend time with friends, and for many of us, attend a college. That’s what we expect. But it’s after high school where things start to change. You see, since we started kindergarten, we’ve been on this track. You go to school, so you can eventually graduate, and then onward to the real world. It’s been the journey we’ve expected these past 13 years, and we’ve fulfilled it dutifully. Now, on this final day, something shifts. We no longer have to attend another day of school if we so choose. We never have to do anything, if we so choose. Because now that we are done with this incredibly long journey, the expectations change. We are entering a period of life filled with excitement and self-discovery.
Now the question changes from what do people expect of you, to what do you expect of yourself. After today, we will all take different paths, and we will all make different decisions. The prospect of what is to come, the idea of emerging into adulthood, can be daunting. And it will be. But again, that’s expected. Now, here is what I want us to take from this speech, something that I want us to remember. We must never forget, no matter which path each of us choose, to simply enjoy life. What is the purpose of life, if you don’t enjoy it? Whether you find enjoyment in self-fulfillment, helping others, working toward a goal, it doesn’t really matter. So long, as we find enjoyment in what we do, no matter what that may be. So I implore all of us, class of 2016, as we walk out these doors, and move on to the next stage in our life, to seek, that enjoyment. We must find what makes us, as individuals, feel that enjoyment. Because if we do, no matter the paths we choose in life, we will have found happiness.
And that, is something you can expect.
Braden has also been featured as a Herald Super Kid.
Brady Huntington
Imagine, for a moment, that your life is a book. Think the ultimate biography, with your very thoughts and opinions scribbled onto broad cream colored pages, bound by an ornate leather cover, so a really nice book at that. But, you obviously can’t put down everything, right? You can’t write down every thought, every moment, every little flicker of excitement and fear, joy or sadness; you can’t recall every conversation you’ve ever had, joke you’ve ever heard, or song you’ve ever sung along to. There’s just too much there. That book would reach from this room to the moon if you tried that, which is pretty cool, but it’s pretty impractical if anyone wants to read it. So what do you cut out? What makes it to the final edit? Sure, maybe at first a lot of moments seem important, but as you step further and further back, the significance of them begins to fade.
What are you going to remember about the last 4 years? I can bet you you’re not going to remember that Math test you pretty much failed, or the class presentation that went terrible, or all the awkward encounters you had in D building when you ran into some random person that you’d never seen before. You’re not going to remember any of that, all you’re going to remember are the big things, the people you shared those small experiences with and the feelings you had as a result. These are the memories that will stick with you, and that’s what you and I and everyone are taking with us as we move out into the world.
Right now there is a star, Epsilon Eridani, and it is so far away that the light surfacing from it and being shot out into space will not be visible until our tenth reunion. By the time tonight’s light finally reaches our eyes after crossing billions and billions of miles of deep space, we will all be different. Just that decade that spans from now until then will change us. Life could take us down a dramatically different path than we forsee and maybe we wouldn’t even recognize that person gazing into the sky. We will have chosen to edit our great biography even more subconsciously than we have today, adding new chapters and forgetting old.
So no matter where we are in ten years, I ask that everyone here tonight look up towards the southern night sky and look towards that distant dot of light and think back to right now. The feelings you are feeling, the excitement and nervousness for the future, the thoughts running through your head, keep everything about this moment preserved for your future self because right now is a unique moment in our lives; we’re leaving the world of the comfortable and about to embark into completely new territory; never again will the world seem so big to us, yet also so ready to be claimed. This is the moment that you get to decide who you will be, and really have a fresh start at life. So remember how that feels, and never let yourself be bogged down by the feeling of permanence; realize that life is never static and that the world is always open. Realize that not everything is worth worrying about, crying over, or dreading, that you choose what fills your book and what the prevailing themes are. After all, you are the only author to that book, so you might as well make it a good read.
Shawna Krueger
I can tell you from experience, the impact we have on others is the most valuable currency there is. We bring nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it. High School is a time of determining what we want to be known for, and what we want to have, where having enough is more of a state of mind than a reality. Our desires and accomplishments stack up higher and higher in front of us until all we can see is ourselves. But being present, here, is more than just what we can do to better ourselves.
Imagine for a moment, your own life at this point in time, as a long hallway that stretches out in front of you. On the right are those people who have lifted you up, supported you. On the left are those who have brought you down. Most likely you can immediately put a few names on both sides, as it’s easy for us to quickly assign people to the left or right side in our own minds. We can make these personal generalizations of how we have been impacted by those in our lives, but now stop and think of this: where was your name just placed? That is, are you being put on the right or left side of other peoples’ hallways? When we are constantly pushed to focus on ourselves – to accomplish the next big thing: the grades, the jobs, the sports – we can end up forgetting about the mark we are leaving. It doesn’t mean we have to change who we are. But rather it’s about making a conscious choice to step outside of ourselves and look up when we walk because sometimes the simplest things make all the difference.
I’ll always remember a little moment in time. It was the end of junior year – the exciting point of the year when we get to turn in all of our books, and let our minds wander yet even a little more towards summer. I had six text books and an assortment of literary finds – the ones I had carefully kept under my bed, where they awaited their last minute return. I put them in a paper bag that morning, while holding breakfast in one hand and finishing my calculus homework in the other. As I was lugging the bag down from the top of D building, the bottom of that paper bag ripped loose and the textbooks… Well they all tumbled down the stairs. I stood there for a while, I did one of those awkward laughs, too, when you are completely at a loss of words. I couldn’t believe it when a stranger gathered up half the books on the landing below me and asked with a smile, “Where are you goin’ with these?” I said, “Ha, all the way to library,” no big deal, I tried to tell myself, as I wondered how I would balance the stack: and weave through the crowds, while holding an umbrella to keep them dry. He said, “Well, I got this half for you!” So there he was, he stopped in his path and followed me to the library.
This moment will always make me laugh at my awkward self, but more relevantly it reminds me that we don’t have to do anything outlandish to be impactful, to be on that right side of someone else’s hallway. We all took different paths to get to where we are today. Regardless of where we’ve been along the way, one thing we all have is our choice when it comes to how we consider others. Being present, looking beyond what is best for us as individuals is worth so much more than the credit we give it.
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