Speeches / What Will Come Next? 8th grade graduation speech [4]

Before I begin, I would thank all the parents, faculty, and the principals for putting up with us for over the past year.

When the school year began, I'm sure a lot of us felt elated. We were in the eighth grade; we were at the top of the food chain, the great white sharks of the middle school, the ones who always got to sit at the back of the auditorium. Sadly, that era is over. That's right, we're the plankton at the bottom of the food chain again. In fact, we have to go to the elementary cafeteria for lunch. Well, my fellow classmates, we are now freshmen.

(I am writing this speech for my grade graduation, and so I really want to get chosen to read it. The word length has to be around 250 words, and what I need help with right now is continuing the progression of the speech and to avoid clichés. Any constructive criticisms or edits will be appreciated)