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My life hasn’t been all rainbrows and sunshine, I 've struggled and clawed my way to be where I am at right now. It wasn’t the ideal situation I wanted to be caught up in, but in the end it just proves that the bigger the struggle is, a better outcome will come. Everything started at the end of 2014, where my struggle truly began, and when I overcame all of it.
‘Finally graduation time,’ I thought to myself while I was in my math class, as I was in my own little world while the teacher was talking about the final and graduation lines. But as uninterested as I was, I started to go deeper into my thoughts, nervously, I started worrying about my math AIMS since I didn’t pass that portion of the test last year. With just one test my whole High School career would be a flop, I need to pass all my classes with at least a D or better in order for that to be excused. I sighed in relief, trying to avoid getting too deep into the thought of not graduating, thinking I had everything planned relieved some stress and anxiety away. “Here”, getting interrupted in my thoughts, I saw my classmate handing back the final, it took me a minute to respond when I finally said “thank you” with a smile, taking the paper and placing it on my cold desk.
Walking to the guidance counselor with a million thoughts in my head wasn’t exactly the feeling I was hoping for, the halls were empty, everyone was in class, and it was quite and peaceful. The door creaked as I opened the office door, I signed in and waited to be called in by the guidance counselor; I started to look around trying to quiet my racing mind and relax my nerves. Seconds turn to minutes and minutes turn to a great deal of anxiety, ‘God what is taking this lady so long, I know she’s not doing any...
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...d to go to New Jersey, I think it’s best for now”. I looked at her, her bright blue eyes, and her concerned look on her face, she was worried and sad, I got angry and said “stop, we’ll find something and I don’t even want to go to Jersey”. The next couple of months turned into the best months ever, we found an ideal apartment called the Cimarron, and it had the best ratings out of all the ones we looked at. More good news, my counselor even called and said I was eligible to graduate! Plus, as a bonus, I got called for the job at UPS. Everything came together with patience and hard work, I was so close to giving up and calling it a day, but with everything now coming together and falling into place it really pushed me to do further things in life now like going to college. As a person, I furthered myself and exceeded expectations -- which is all that I ever wanted.
While everybody is ready for graduation, something didn’t feel right to me. I didn’t feel like I had accomplished anything. I wasn’t accepted into any colleges like everyone else, and that’s because I didn’t even apply. I wasn’t prepared for anything, let alone college. I’m not in high school anymore. It was a game to me and I finally ran out of lives. There’s not as many chances outside of high school. I’ve come to the realization that I need to listen to my counselor and get it together and be more like my best friends and work towards a goal until I accomplish it. I needed to change my and realize that my past doesn’t have to determine my future. I wanted to grasp the concept of, “it’s never to late.” I desired to become a better version of myself. I craved to the idea of a positive purpose in life. I wanted to earn the respect and admiration of others. I wanted to be better. At last, my mind is exactly where it’s suppose to be, and I have come to the recognition that all I need it just one more
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote, "You are a very special person - become what you are." These words encourage us, the graduating class of 2012, to recognize the goodness and potential in each and every one of us and to go out and excel in the world. We are a diverse group of different aspirations and backgrounds, bound for different corners of the earth to carve out our won individual niches. Before we leave behind Lee Falls High School and each other, we must ask ourselves how we have become who we are.
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:
I couldn’t believe this day was finally here. I would get my high school diploma and get out of this town forever. I was finally going to get the chance that I had been waiting for so many years. I was going to start a brand new life, someplace away from here, where no one knew me. As my mind was lost in plans of the future, I tuned out my surroundings, until, a loud noise snapped me out of my thoughts.
Betty Lou is right -- Our achievements of the past four years have been an honor. And so I offer my congratulations to each of you for achieving the honor that comes with high school graduation. Up to this point, high school may be the most exciting and difficult experience of our lives. We've enjoyed the carefree and happy times with WWF-style pep assemblies, dances, Junior T-P nights, and classes with friends. We've had our bad days too, though. The days when we forgot our semester project for C.I. at home, or when we couldn't stop falling asleep and Mr. Gnome made us get up to "open a window." But far worse were the times when we felt alone. We've all had days of personal crisis when we've felt rejected by those around us or alienated from them. Hopefully, we were fortunate enough to have had a friend come rescue us from isolation, but perhaps not.
A boy once approached Socrates with the desire to obtain wisdom. Without saying a word, Socrates led the boy down to the edge of the sea and walked in, beckoning him to follow. When they were standing waist deep in the water, Socrates pushed the boy down, completely submerging his head. He held him thus for a couple of minutes, until the boy was almost to the point of death, before letting him up. Sputtering and angry, the boy demanded to know why Socrates had held him underwater for so long. In response, Socrates asked, "when you were under the water, what did you want more than anything in the world?"
High school. I never realized it would bring so many changes. As I walked on to campus my freshman year, my mindset was the same as it was in eighth grade; the young are invincible. And although I was excited to come to high school I had many fears. Would the classes be too hard, would I make new friends, what could I become involved in, and most of all -- what if I get lost? All of these fears eventually subsided and I, along with all of you, found the right classes and the right teachers. We all made new friends. We all got involved in something. During my freshman year, innocence surrounded me and although eventually my shell would crack, not until this year have I broken through. This year I decided that it is time to soar on my own. Graduation is the beginning of a new flight for all of us, the class of 1997.
I did not get to know many of you. So, I cannot be certain of how you feel, but, as for me, this year has been, by far, the most enjoyable and eye opening one of my high school career. Enjoyable because of the new, interesting friends I've made and of the fun times I've had, and eye opening because of my being forced to look towards the future. Not just day dreaming and imagining about the rest of my life, but finally having to sit down and make some definite decisions concerning it. For me and many of you, colleges have had to be applied for and decided on and scholarships filled out. Some of you have been looking into vocational schools or the military, while others will be going straight into the work force. Whatever your case may be, we've all had one thing in common in that we've been planning for our futures. Since the decisions we make now or soon will impact the rest of our lives, I'd like to take this time to share some advice with you all.
Class of 2012, tonight is the last time we will share together for many years. After tonight, we will begin a new chapter in our lives. This chapter will lead us away from each other, but the memories we've shared will continue to stay. The years behind us have been full of challenges and rewards; these experiences will be there to guide us as we branch out into the world.
Well, here we are. Sitting in this stuffy gym wearing these unflattering robes, while the band is poised and ready to play “Pomp and Circumstance.” We’ve always known this day would come and, whether our teachers, our parents or ourselves are prepared for it, here it is. We’re about to take that giant leap in just a few minutes and after that, it’s time to make our own choices. No longer will our biggest decisions entail which person to ask to prom or which period would be the best to TA during. Now our choices will begin to revolve around which bills we need to pay and what job we want to be doing 20 years from now. And whether you choose to earn a degree, get a job certification or immediately start working, there are some universal choices that everyone should make to ensure a fulfilling life for ourselves and our families.
I sat on my sturdy bed, staring up at the blank, white ceiling. Thinking for the thousandth time about my future school. My room was empty except for a worn out chair and a tall black dresser where my clothes were spilling out of. I needed to think this through. The thought of going to Metro brought waves of anxiety that came crashing down on me. Leaving me with the sensation of an elephant on my chest. Staying at my home school left me with nothing but future visions of regret. Thinking it would help, I weighed out the pros and cons of both schools. Metro would have offered me great opportunities, and who knows who I’d meet there. But my current school was so familiar. All of my siblings and friends went there. But I knew everything there, why not step into the unknown and possibly achieve even something even greater? If I kept to the same people my entire life, how would I expect to meet and understand new people? Shouldn’t I broaden my horizon and become a better, stronger, more open minded person? At that moment, I knew the decision was made. After a good ten minutes of pep-talk to myself, I mustered up enough courage to go tell my mother about my
But once again, I was wrong. With the emergence of senior year came the hectic college preparation process. But, in spite of being supported by the loved ones that knew that I would be graduating soon, it was arduous to believe in myself through it all. Over time I began to suffer from multiple mental breakdowns that progressively got worse leading to intense feelings of emptiness. My long-awaited days that were supposed to consist of relaxing and having fun turned into a noxious battle with my internal demons. Due to the continuous concern I had about how my future would be, I could no longer look forward to what senior year had in store for me. With this, I allowed my academic profile to define who I was as a person. And as a result, the alacrity I possessed gradually slipped from my hands at
Good afternoon everyone. Friends, family, staff members, honored guests and fellow graduates. On behalf of the Grad Class of 2016, we were selected by our class to give some parting words. Today is our day. After thirteen years of knowing only these walls around us, our time here has come to an end. We are officially stepping forward into our futures. No longer united on one path, as we are now branching off on our own, taking our own paths.
Imagine it is one’s first day in high school. Standing in front befalls the entrance way to your new future, thinking of what lies ahead from the perspective of a middle school grad. One would perhaps have mixed emotions as to what to expect. Observing the new students around the corridors, it transpires as if they are dragging their feet to progress inside, for the reason that they are fresh from the blissful summer days; they are in exchange, yet again, to the reality of school homework, projects, reports and tests. Some have queries and doubts in their minds; what does one expect of themselves getting into a high school life such as this? “What remains in store for me, I wonder…” “This school year is going to be subsequently much tougher
To begin something new, you must sacrifice something old. To enter the real world, you must graduate your childhood.