My valediction speech
I know I know..I dont ever update but Im putting my valediction speech up for you to seeeee tell me what you think...
Thirteen years, 2,340 days, 14,040 hours, 842,400 minutes, 50,544,000 seconds. All equal amounts of time, all counting down to one day. It is the end of one life; it is the beginning of another.1 According to Sophia Lauren, "Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." I couldn't agree more.
Since the beginning of my high school career, mistakes have been a part of my daily life. Whether it was not doing my schoolwork, or not caring enough about school in general, I have overcome it all and in just over two weeks I will graduate. As I walk across the stage, and look out into the faces of my loved ones, the words of Julius Caesar will echo through my mind. "I came, I saw, I conquered."
For a long time school was not a priority in my life. I simply did not care. Why did I think that way?2 Perhaps one day, as I travel down the long path of self-discovery that we call life, I will find out. Now however, I truly do not know. If there is one thing I'm sure of, it is that during that time I was far from happy.
Somewhere between the start of my senior year, and today I hit rock bottom. I was given a choice; sign a contract giving me strict conditions regarding my attendance in school, or kiss the twelve years I had already put forth goodbye. At that moment something changed inside me. I cared.3 The process was slow, but as time progressed, so did I. Not only did my grades improve, I was happier then ever as well. I remembered the words of Selma Langerlöif, "He who is sorrowful can force himself to smile, but he who is glad cannot weep." It was then I realized that for a long time I was pretending to smile, only for the sake of those around me.
While I know I am not fully the person I want to be yet, there are two special people by my side everyday helping me to become that person. Words cannot begin to express the gratitude I have for them. Putting up with my constant tears, complaints, and arguments. As Helen Keller once said, "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." These two amazing people in my life help me not to focus on my mistakes, but rather to realize my achievements
To my mother: you are more then just my parent, you are the keeper of my secrets, you are my rock.4 You stand strong during even the stormiest of times. I can trust you never to tell my secrets, never to judge me for the decisions I make. Thank you so much for being there all these years. When I was down and worried about not graduating, you were there to pick me up and push me to try harder. In the words of Dorothy Canfield Fisher, "A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary." With you by my side, I always stand tall.
To my boyfriend, the love of my life: you are my best friend, my other half, and one of the greatest things to ever come into my life. Sophocles once said, "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life, that word is love" I cannot possibly put into writing how much you mean to me. Even when we argue you have my best interests at heart. My life is like a building and you are the foundation on which I stand, without you I would crumble into pieces.5 Without your help I don't think I would have made it this far.
To the graduating class of 2006, remember the words of Phyllis McGinley, "Time is the thief you cannot banish." These are supposed to be the best years of our lives. Some of us have already been robbed of so much time, don't let anymore be taken away. Live you lives to the fullest extent, and don't let anyone lead you to believe you don't deserve the best. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."6 So take your time, relax, handle things as they come, but most important, have fun.
As I wrap up my speech, I would like to leave you with the words of William James, "Be not afraid of life, believe that life is worth living and your believe will help create fact." Congratulations to the class of 2006. We did it!
1.) Compound Balance
2.) Rhetorical Question
3.) Simple Sentence
4.) Anaphora
5.) Simile
6.) Eleanor Roosevelt
Thirteen years, 2,340 days, 14,040 hours, 842,400 minutes, 50,544,000 seconds. All equal amounts of time, all counting down to one day. It is the end of one life; it is the beginning of another.1 According to Sophia Lauren, "Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." I couldn't agree more.
Since the beginning of my high school career, mistakes have been a part of my daily life. Whether it was not doing my schoolwork, or not caring enough about school in general, I have overcome it all and in just over two weeks I will graduate. As I walk across the stage, and look out into the faces of my loved ones, the words of Julius Caesar will echo through my mind. "I came, I saw, I conquered."
For a long time school was not a priority in my life. I simply did not care. Why did I think that way?2 Perhaps one day, as I travel down the long path of self-discovery that we call life, I will find out. Now however, I truly do not know. If there is one thing I'm sure of, it is that during that time I was far from happy.
Somewhere between the start of my senior year, and today I hit rock bottom. I was given a choice; sign a contract giving me strict conditions regarding my attendance in school, or kiss the twelve years I had already put forth goodbye. At that moment something changed inside me. I cared.3 The process was slow, but as time progressed, so did I. Not only did my grades improve, I was happier then ever as well. I remembered the words of Selma Langerlöif, "He who is sorrowful can force himself to smile, but he who is glad cannot weep." It was then I realized that for a long time I was pretending to smile, only for the sake of those around me.
While I know I am not fully the person I want to be yet, there are two special people by my side everyday helping me to become that person. Words cannot begin to express the gratitude I have for them. Putting up with my constant tears, complaints, and arguments. As Helen Keller once said, "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." These two amazing people in my life help me not to focus on my mistakes, but rather to realize my achievements
To my mother: you are more then just my parent, you are the keeper of my secrets, you are my rock.4 You stand strong during even the stormiest of times. I can trust you never to tell my secrets, never to judge me for the decisions I make. Thank you so much for being there all these years. When I was down and worried about not graduating, you were there to pick me up and push me to try harder. In the words of Dorothy Canfield Fisher, "A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary." With you by my side, I always stand tall.
To my boyfriend, the love of my life: you are my best friend, my other half, and one of the greatest things to ever come into my life. Sophocles once said, "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life, that word is love" I cannot possibly put into writing how much you mean to me. Even when we argue you have my best interests at heart. My life is like a building and you are the foundation on which I stand, without you I would crumble into pieces.5 Without your help I don't think I would have made it this far.
To the graduating class of 2006, remember the words of Phyllis McGinley, "Time is the thief you cannot banish." These are supposed to be the best years of our lives. Some of us have already been robbed of so much time, don't let anymore be taken away. Live you lives to the fullest extent, and don't let anyone lead you to believe you don't deserve the best. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."6 So take your time, relax, handle things as they come, but most important, have fun.
As I wrap up my speech, I would like to leave you with the words of William James, "Be not afraid of life, believe that life is worth living and your believe will help create fact." Congratulations to the class of 2006. We did it!
1.) Compound Balance
2.) Rhetorical Question
3.) Simple Sentence
4.) Anaphora
5.) Simile
6.) Eleanor Roosevelt