I have been chosen today to come before you and give some words of encouragement to the graduating class because I am seen as an example of one who has succeeded in school. And yet, I am by no means the only person in our class who has succeeded. Woody Allen once said, “Success is 80 percent showing up” and since all of you have shown up here today and at school for the last 12 years, you all are most of the way there. So what makes up the remaining 20 percent? Not getting all As on your tests, or going to state or winning first prize in a contest. It is merely trying. If you try your best, you have already succeeded, regardless of where you end up. The world is a fickle place and too often the most deserving, hardest-working people are passed over in favor of the ones who obtain the best-looking accomplishments. Thus, one’s measure of success should be based not on how well you do by society’s standards, but on how hard you worked and how much you got out of it. As Tennyson once said, “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!” But rather, we should be, as he said, like the “spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought ... To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” Just because we are graduating today does not mean we now know everything; rather, it is just the opposite. As we go out into the world we will continue to grow, to learn, to mature. Indeed, this is perhaps one of the greatest qualities of mankind, that we can develop our minds to better understand. It is a rare and important gift that should not be abused through neglect or halfhearted attention. Never stop trying and never stop learning because the moment you do, you begin to die. Once you leave here tonight, you will no longer be seniors. You will be adults, set adrift with the entire world at your disposal. It will be up to you, and you alone, to decide your futures. Today more than ever, as we stand at the dawn of the new millennium, you have the opportunity to become something great, to achieve wondrous deeds.
Growing up, my parents never expected perfection but expected that I try to accomplish my best. The effort I’ve put forth in learning has been reflected in my grades throughout my high school career. I’ve entered myself in vigorous course work such as AP Government and AP English to become well prepared for my college career, all while maintaining a 4.4 grade point average this year. Not only do I engage in AP classes, but up until this year I had no study halls. I wanted my day to be packed full of interesting classes that I would enjoy learning about. My grades and choice of classes prove the effort that I put forth in my learning. Working hard now can only pay off in the future. Learning now creates a well-rounded human being. Working to learn is why I am so dedicated to my studies now.
The article “How to Be a Success” by Malcom Gladwell speaks about how success is something that can be achieved if you put the time and work into it, and how success is not achieved overnight but rather through long hours of constant practice. His article is targeted to more than one group of individuals. The groups of individuals that his article targets are teenage students, young adults, adults, people who want to become an expert, or want to succeed in something they have an interest in and in general society. Another article also related to the success of an individual “An A+ Student Regrets His Grades” by Afraj Gill describes how in society many schools focus more on students’ grades, rather than their learning, and how a student is
To regard the importance of the bigger picture, he maintains parallel structure and utilizes the repetition of words in the body of the speech. “The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life” occurs when one seizes the day—when one finds the joys in life by realizing “you are not special”. The pauses and short sentences also adds to the conversational aspect and pace of the commencement piece. To continue, he notes how in this moment of time, every single one of them is dressed “exactly the same” and their diplomas are “exactly the same”. The unification of these prospective seniors further augments the message of settling. McCullogh further critiques the phrases that defy logic. High school students have perceived that “good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C”. The goal into doing one’s best has been shaped into doing the capabilities of another, in which McCullogh responds metaphorically to only focus on the betterment of the self: “climb [the mountain] so you can see the world, not so the world can see you”. All of these seniors have fallen into the preconceived mindset of superiority, unifying them together but it is their personal capabilities that distinguishes one from another, successes from failures. The support and inspiration he is aiming for is clearly portrayed in proposing to the students to, “[d]ream big. Work hard. Think for yourself”. He inspires them to experience life instead of accomplish
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you someone else is the greatest accomplishment.” This quote is by Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was a man who always put his education as a top priority, so I highly admire him. As I read this quote, I realized that my greatest accomplishment is something that I am constantly progressing and excelling in, my education. There are three reasons that I will explain as to why my education is my greatest accomplishment. First, education has never been a factor in any of my family member’s lives. Secondly, it took a long time for me to get on track with my educational values. Lastly, I will explain how far my education has gotten me.
As I was gathering input for this graduation speech, several people suggested including a profound quote offering “encouraging advice to the young graduates”, and then there were others who said, “eh don’t worry about it, no one listens to those anyway.” Fortunately, I was actually able to take from both suggestions and found a happy balance.
The end of my first graduate school semester leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. Although I'm glad that the stress and pressure of continuously feeling unprepared to take on graduate school is now over, the feeling that I can successfully accomplish my goal and become a School Counselor seems more attainable. Working towards something I feel passionate about, and coming to the end of the beginning of a long journey has never felt so satisfying. What feels even better is all of the knowledge that I have acquired about the profession which society needs in order to function in times of despair. During our very first class we were asked about, “Our life’s motto?” From this day onward and after listening to the different perspectives, backgrounds,
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things” said Leonardo Da Vinci. I am the type of student who believes in this statement. Accomplishment does not simply appear. Accomplishment comes with a tremendous cost of time, energy, and hard work. In complete honesty, I have had a wonderful life; I come from a traditional family with a middle-class income living in suburban America. As a result, this question had me stumped at first. Then, talking with other students and educators, I realized as a first generation aspiring four-year college student, my journey to higher education has been challenging without the experienced guidance that students with generational higher education parents have. I realized that I have used these circumstances to develop positive attributes as well as educational and social achievements.
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.
Being Marefat's first graduating class to complete all four years, one can say we've acquired a higher level of school wisdom than any previous class. We've formed traditions, we've set records, and we've made a lot of friends along the way. I remember our freshman year when we could use the excuse of being a new school for every shortcoming we encountered. I remember our sophomore year, the last time I cleaned my bedroom, when Marefat had its first senior class, and the school seemed to shrink for some reason. Last year we were the juniors, and we conquered the SAT tests: And made it through those busy days where you hadn't quite found room in your schedule to pencil in a bathroom break, dinner or sleep. Well, this year we were the kings and queens, there was Star Wars, Starbucks, and a certain football team lost its winning streak to the mighty Knights. Looking back we can see our accomplishments and the marks we made. Now, we must take all that we have learned in our years at Marefat and apply it to our future. Just as we have set traditions here, we must enter the world ready to tackle new problems and work out new solutions. We are the ones who can break all of those records that have been set, and have our names etched in history. It's our turn -- the world is ours and we just have to decide what we want to do with it.
Academic Success continues throughout your life, the skills and knowledge obtained while attending school doesn’t go away after you cross the stage and get your diploma. In order to have the continuation of success, one must first not only understand what exactly Academic Success means to them but how they can apply it to their future. Perhaps because of its vague nature, the term academic success is one of the most widely used constructs in educational research. It isn’t surprising that researchers hesitate to define what actually constitutes students’ academic success. (York, Gibson, & Rankin, 2015) My definition of academic success has several components. First, be able to not only set educational goals but to
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.
Graduation is two weeks away, which for most of us does not seem possible. As we look back at these past four long but fulfilling years, there are some things that we shall never forget. It’s hard to believe that at one point we were little freshmen entering into these doors, with no idea what was in store for us. Four years have passed since that first day, and we have made decisions that will frame our futures. After years of studying, filling out applications, scholarships, and taking tests, we are now thrown into the real world, where there are seldom retakes, second chances are only a memory of yesteryear, and honor codes are the way of life.
Ok, its 12:15 and I just walked into my house from seeing a movie with three of my best friends and I have to write this speech. A speech that’s suppose to inspire all of you, and tell you how the future has so much to hold for the class of 2015, how the possibilities are endless. Right now I’m probably standing in the front of the class and supposed to be addressing all of you as “fellow graduates, or to the class of 15’”. But that’s not what I’m going to do. I put this off as I do with the majority of my work thinking I would just write something everyone expects to hear, but instead I wrote this.
To begin something new, you must sacrifice something old. To enter the real world, you must graduate your childhood.
Graduation: the last day that I would unwillingly set foot on the fields of Horizon High School. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, and tried so hard to keep my feet moving one after the other in order to maintain my perfect stature. After the two hour wait of opening speeches, class songs, and the calling off of the five hundred plus names that were in front of me, it was finally my turn. As my row stood up and we walked towards the stage it had set in at last, this is it, I am done. My high school career ended on that night, but it didn’t close the book that is my life, it only started a new chapter, and with it came a whole slue of uncertainties.