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.
Introduction- In order to succeed in life, you have to be open to trying new experiences, even if you know you might fail. If you do fail, you have to persevere and try again if you want to reach your goal. To become better than you are, you must be exposed to new ideas and moments of failure and doubt.
I was so excited to start my new journey in school. I knew that being involved in a sport was going to help me become more confident. Running has taught me how to achieve my goals, be tough; both physically and mentally, and appreciate life. The first week of cross country was difficult.
My first week of school, everyone encouraged me to join a club or a team. Of course I did not want to, until I heard we had a track team, and even then I did not know if I wanted to pursue it. In my mind, debating if I should dedicate myself to track was a hard decision. I was about to not only give this sport my time but also nothing but
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!
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
As much as this class has grown together, every one of us has also grown as a unique individual. We have found our talents and interests. These interests have drawn us to different activities and in turn helped shape our lives. Some of us have excelled academically while others have helped improve Summer High School by participating in activities such as Link Crew or ASB. Some of us acted in plays while others shared their musical talents by singing in the choir or performing with our outstanding band. Many of us have preferred to be involved in community service with a group like KEY Club. In addition to these school activities, many of us have invested time in jobs and other community activities.
Teamwork of course in the most important skill and person could have. The skill to work with others and not be selfish is demanded by schools and countries around the world. Some people struggle, however, I learned this pressing skill as player on my high school team. It took me awhile to realize the true meaning of teamwork. Most seasons I got the theme but I never understood the true context. It was not until my junior season where the theme clicked. Junior year I did not play, however, there were a bunch hardworking teammates of mine I encouraged. We all had one goal as a team and it was to win the state championship. We obtained the goal but it was not because of talent. The real reason was teamwork. Rather than sulk and complain, I cheered them on and at the end of the day I was still a big part of the team. This was when I learned teamwork was for everyone’s best interest and can help reach any goal people put their minds to. However, through teamwork I also discovered how to overcome obstacles through hard work and having a relentless mind set when trying to maximize my baseball skills. My high school team has extremely tough and insane off-season workouts. Similar to the
To start off on the right path, the team must understand what they are working towards. They must be committed to work hard in order to accomplish their goals. Each member should have expectations from everyone and themselves as part of the team.
I had never really been a part of a team that had a chance to win something, but the potential was always there. I finally got my chance to be a part of such a team my sophomore year of track. Mr. Jones, the head track coach, had decided to experiment with some different races to gain more team points. Since the girls' team lacked a medley relay, he placed Cindy, Kim, Susan and I in those spots. Cindy would run the 400, Kim would run the 200, and Susan and I would start the race off by each running the 100. We all had worked viciously to earn those spots by running off against our teammates.
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.
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.
be able to keep up with your team and you will keep going rather than
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.