Congratulations, County High Class of 2012, our thirteen-year marathon is over. Some of you may know I am a distance runner, part of an immensely successful cross-country and distance track program. We were fourth at the state cross-country championships, and we are the best senior boys team in the state. My involvement in athletics truly linked me with our school and granted me friends whom I will remember for a lifetime. One of the most important aspects of my time in high school was getting involved. Wherever your next journey takes you, don't sit back and watch the action. Take the initiative and you will experience the benefits. Just look around you. These are the people you grew up with, the people you were teammates with and the people you have survived dozens of classes with for the last four years. They are not merely faces in a yearbook. They are your people, your community, your family. They are the greatest benefit of being involved. Another concept I have learned from my participation in running is teamwork. No matter how hard we try, we cannot live our lives without others' help or without helping others. We must work together to succeed on the road ahead. This is the essence of teamwork. I know that even my personal success in cross-country and track is not solely mine. I know that my three district titles, one in cross country and two in track, in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs, could not have been accomplished without my team's unequivocal support and for that, I thank them. However, along with the team element, we must remember one notion. Live life for you. Expect more out of yourself. Expect to reach the finish line, expect to finish first and expect to finish in one piece. Don't live your life striving to fulfill the expectations of your parents, your professors or your bosses. Live up to your own. Raise your expectations. Exceed them. Reach your potential. Now I have one thing to ask of you. Tonight, as we cross this finish line before us and set forth upon our next journey, strive to make a difference. Get involved to make our country a better place. Use teamwork to bring our people and the whole world together. I know to me personally, making a difference in our country and our world is paramount. Next week, I leave for the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.
In conclusion, I have learned to work more exemplary with a team in various ways. To begin, I have learned how to combine forces and communicate, as well as work with other individuals. Secondly, teamwork helped me become a thriving leader. Last but not least, sportsmanship, like teamwork, inspired me to put in additional time and sweat to get incredible results. Brian Tracy once aptly stated “Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it.”
When I was in elementary school, I loved to read. I was a total nerd back then ... okay maybe I still am, but one thing has changed. Now I don't so much like reading. My favorite poet was Shel Silverstein, who wrote "Where the Sidewalk Ends." He seemed like he was a total hippie, but that's cool because I like hippies. My grandma is a recovering hippie. I like her too. Anyway, Shel Silverstein wrote about the coolest things. He wrote about magical erasers, eating whales and a boy with long hair flying away from people who were taunting him. He captured all of the things that I loved without knowing that I actually loved them. Now you may ask, how does this hippie relate to our graduation? Well, he wrote a poem entitled "Traffic Light" and this is how it goes:
Good evening. Some of you out there may not realize this but those of you who attended Suntime Middle School have been with this guy for the last seven years. I would like to ask you all, not just Suntime Middle School grads and who all else, to join me in thanking Mr. Weather for his patience and dedication to the success of our education over the years. We are the Class of 2000. The first graduating class of the new millennium. The past four years have been pretty wild. We started out as a bunch of rats in a small cage, but as time went by we learned and matured and became big rats in a new small cage, but in any case, the cage door is now opening; the handlers turning us wild things loose. As we leave "Where the Wild Things Are," home to some of the best cat fights, fist fights and food fights this side of the Cascades, I have a little surprise for all of you sitting in front of me here tonight in your caps and gowns … we ain’t seen nothing yet!
Athletics has made a difference in my life through its redefining of the word “success.” Before I got involved with track and cross country, success was measured by goals I set and achieved for myself that made me happy. Since then, I have realized that success is much more gratifying when it is dependent on making those around me proud. In track, success is when I have trained hard enough so that I am able to help my relay team win a race or break the school record. In cross country, success is when I have built up enough endurance to contribute to the team score and help my team move on to the state meet. This mentality has translated to my daily life, as I am constantly working hard to please those around me. At school, I always do my homework and get good grades so that my teachers do not have to focus extra energy on getting me to do my work. At work, I strive to go above and beyond my typical duties so that I can lessen the responsibilities of my co-workers. At home, I help out with chores without being asked so that my parents can have one less thing
Well guys, we've made it. We've made it through four years of one of the most highly involved times in our lives. We've seen all, we've done all, and at this point in the year, most of us have probably had enough of it all. If you think about it, four school years is really a long time. four years of high school is equal to 720 school days, 4,320 class periods, and if you're a busy guy like me and you tend to count things by the minute, then it might surprise you to know that we've been in class for about 237,600 minutes. Class of 2006- are you ready to graduate?
I believe that my involvement in sports has prepared me for real life situations and has impacted me in a positive way. One lesson that I will be able to carry with me is staying positive during difficult times. There were plenty of rough times during the seasons when I was not performing to my fullest potential or having conflicting moments with my teammates but I learned that I should use the these difficult times as a motivation. I learned
Confucius once said, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall." As a class, we have done our best not to fail. Pep assemblies, dances, food drives, games, and conquering the senior lot are just some of the things we accomplished. We pu...
Are we there yet? I have asked this question many times on road trips, only to hear the answer, "It's only one more mile, I promise." Of course, our destination was never just one more mile. It seemed as though we would never reach our destination. The one idea I neglected by asking the question, "Are we there yet?" is the notion that it's not the destination that is important, but the journey itself.
T.S. Eliot once wrote, "What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." Every landmark in our lives will end but there is always a beginning to an end. As each new path ends a new one begins. Graduation marks the end of a path but as it ends a new path begins.
Henry Adams once wrote "A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." This is so true, every teacher here has taught us much more than the textbook curriculum. Every teacher here tonight has given us students something we will use or remember for the rest of our lives. I really don't think people understand or appreciate the time and effort our teachers have put into us. So tonight I'm not going to give everyone advice on the future, I'm not going to tell you how life is a journey we've just begun, and I'm not going to brag about how great the class of 2006 is. Since we have eight outstanding Valedictorians this year, I'm sure all of those bases are already covered. So instead, I'm going to take a few minutes here to thank some of the teachers and staff that have made a difference in my own life, and by doing so I hope that everybody present tonight will see how important each and every teacher and staff member is at Amos High School.
It is probably a mistake that I am standing here giving a speech for graduation. In fact it is probably a mistake that I am even graduating from this school at all -- believe me, just as most people in this class I have tested the limits of attendance, of sleeplessness, and of procrastination. At the beginning of my high schooling, I was even testing dropping out ... and if that wasn't a mistake, I don't know what was. After four years of Starr altering our minds, it seemed most fitting for me to spend my four minutes talking about mistakes. Thank goodness for them, by the way -- it is only when we truly screw up big time that we are ever stopped in our tracks -- stopped, briefly, to learn lessons of worth.
Sport teaches lessons that can translate on a larger scale to life. As an athlete I have learned the importance of teamwork. Any team is only as strong as its least prepared member. The very best player will never beat the best team. The concept of teamwork encourages members to give up the pursuit of individual glory for the success of the team. Individual statistics may bring personal pride but they rest in the shadow of the team's overall success.
My high school days made me more independent and resourceful because I had to balance the challenges of commuting three hours daily plus studying in order to earn good grades. I was also an active member in various school activities such as, basketball, badminton, and various community events. I also acted as a leader for my high school basketball team for state level competition. With hard work and continuous dedication, I earned many awards in high school for my preeminent performance in the fields of science. I was one of 30 students, out of 80, who graduated from high school in my class.
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Sitting in the backseat of the car, I used to bombard my family with these questions. On our summer road trips I was so anxious for the destination that I failed to appreciate the journey. However, as time passed and I grew older, I realized that it was the journey that was important and not the destination.
be able to keep up with your team and you will keep going rather than