I graduated! These last four years, I have been blessed with tears of happiness, and sadness; laughter of hysterical stress, and genuine jokes and puns; memories of pristine classrooms, tests, and white papers in line with energetic hallways crowded with people I have learned to love; moments of delusional sleep deprivation, and mostly wisdom — at least we hoped. As we all departed our separate ways walking across the stage to the lives that were waiting for us, I was so honored, and extremely humbled to be the salutatorian student speaker for our graduation class of 2015!
Thank you administrators, faculty, staff, family, and friends for joining us here today to celebrate the graduating class of 2015!
To the Class of 2015,
Through all the time that we have spent at here Greece Athena — this is approximately our 1,465th day – this is the first day, however, I am able to say: We Made It!
We have made it through:
The times spent fighting through the crowded hallways.
The times procrastinating on homework.
The times of inedible food at the cafeteria.
The times consumed by long hours of theatre rehearsals, and sports practices.
The times spent fighting senioritis.
And
The times opposing the bitter-sweetness of this last moment at Greece Athena High School.
I realize that there are a myriad of ways to talk about and define time; there are the memories of the past, the moments of the present, and the impression of the highly anticipated future. It is difficult to distinguish the time we have spent here for we have counted our time foolishly in class periods and weeks – counting down the days until our eventual freedom.
It is difficult to define time, without reflecting on the years prior to 2015: our beginning as oblivious freshmen, roaming deer-in-headlights; our sophomore year, stuck in between; followed by the rigor of junior year building our confidence to become the class we are today.
It is difficult to define time without the people who made sure we didn’t waste a second of it; the people that we all owe a great deal of gratitude to:
Our parents: for our foundation, for supporting us in our endless endeavors, for dragging us out of bed every morning and driving us to school; for encouraging us, giving us space to grow, for keeping us fed and clothed, and so loved – these are only a few of the ways they have supported us;
Our friends: for the laughter, tears and companionship;
Our teachers: for building our middle ground and sharing their time and knowledge with us; for demanding excellence from us no matter what challenge was presented;
Our coaches and mentors: for advising and inspiring us, for teaching us the importance of being disciplined and putting effort whether we win or we lose.
It is difficult to define time without these individuals and all they have put toward our development as they sought to teach us the value of time.
Though it is difficult to define time, it is clear that time evolves. Today we reflect on our past as well as contemplate the endeavors and challenges we have ahead of us. Through an evolution, anything is possible. In reference to time, Enute Johnson once stated, “Don’t worry about being on time, be in time.” Because when you are “in” time, you can accept and experience a much larger slice of life as it unfolds.” I realize that we feel that time has both flown by, dragged on, and now at the end of these four years, we have run out of time. As we look back, time seems to have gone by too quickly, when we looked toward the future, it seemed to go by too slow. It is important to remember that time is created by us. As we embark on new experiences and take on new challenges, let’s remember to define the moment; it holds promise and hope. Let’s take our time and take in our time.
Before Mr. Richardson begins to count down the seconds left of this speech,
5…
4…
3…
2…
I leave you with not the bell, but the time you have left define. In time, everything eventually ends. Endings are unfortunately inevitable. As much as I have looked forward to this day, I have always disliked endings. Today is when our time here comes to a close. Today, we leave all that we are accustomed to; all that is comfortable. We have, however, memories that will stay still and people who have become a part of us. They are our solid ground; our time spent; our future, our present and our past. This moment in time is frozen, and soon my words will linger in the air, and the clock will continue to keep ticking. I am proud and so honored to be a part of this class. In our caps, gowns, and soon, holding our diplomas, there is so much for us to proceed to do with this education and the time we have spent with each other.
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