Class of 2006
For public speaking, we're doing a special occasion speech. We get to pick from toasts, graduation commencement, tributes etc. and I picked the graduation commencement speech. I've had help with editing with T and Dan. But i wanna see what everyone else thinks of it so far. I still have to add things to it to make it sound a little better and the timing. It has to be within the time frame of 5-7 minutes. and so far I only have 4 minutes.
Feel free to criticize, give suggestions and advice. I want you to be harsh on it! I have to do last minute add-ons tmr, because I give the speech on Wednesday and am really thinking about trying out to be the graduation speaker on thursday.
Fireworks - Tammy Le
Twelve years, twelve years of hard work, twelve years of perseverance, twelve years of dedication. Class of 2006, we’ve finally made it, but we couldn’t have done it without the help of our family, friends and teachers along the way. We’ve all been in the darkness, where we forget who we are or what we’re all about, we get overwhelmed and sometimes even want to quit, I’ve sure been through that a couple times in my life and without the help of my family, friends and teachers I probably would still be lost and wouldn’t be here today to share this moment with all of you. They are our flame of light, they see through the dark we get stuck in at times and they are the ones who believed in us from the start and never stopped, even when we didn’t believe in ourselves. They’re the ones that keep us going.
At the same time, memories are what also make life worth living for. Like Dr. Bob Moorhead once said “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” So take a moment and close your eyes, and picture those moments that made these twelve years unforgettable. Whether it’s getting our license, our first touchdown, our first 100% psychology test, our first spelling bee, our last spring break in Mexico, our classroom pet in elementary school, or our very first freshman pep fest here in this very gym. Whatever it may be, I invite you to take the time to relive the moments and feel it happen again. We won’t remember every single thing that happened in the past twelve years, but they’re the certain moments that will glow in our minds forever.
I challenge you to name one man or one woman who was great and truly “successful”, that didn’t follow their passion. Beethoven and Einstein were only great because they felt the passion and loved what they were doing and pursued it. Each of us here today have our own passion whether we know it or not, so there’s no need to reach for the stars, the stars are already within us - just reach deep into ourselves and there will be the greatest passion, the greatest spirit, and the greatest strength to pursue whatever it is that we want to right when we walk out these gym doors and let ourselves burn the pathways into our destinies.
Take a good look at our fellow classmates and thank them; for the past twelve years they’re the ones who gave us a reason to drag ourselves out of bed every morning and made our days in economics or study hall much more enjoyable. We have experienced pain, happiness, tragedy and success, but it has always been together. We’ve all lost some friendships and also have gained some over the past twelve years but all of that doesn’t matter because during the time that we’ve been friends we helped each other grow, we created memories that will never be forgotten and now whether we are still friends or never even were to begin with, we’re here together, graduating together, more importantly sharing this moment together, so take another look at the ones around you, thank them.
Lastly, there's ourselves. Yeah, our family, friends and teachers got us through the tough times these past twelve years, but really, without ourselves we wouldn't be here today. Give ourselves a pat on the back and thank ourselves. Each and everyone of us have demonstrated our abilities to cope with deadlines, long nights of studying for those tests, social stress, major life changes, hormones and even smelly gym socks all within these twelve years and we're still alive and breathing, ready to take on the future. Whether it be zero, two or eight more years of school, we've made it through the first half, and remember that if we got through what many psychologists call the "most crucial and critical years of life" we can get through anything.
Class of 2006, the fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse; let each and everyone of us explode tonight and everyday after tonight and into our future.