**I just wrote this and need to know what you think? I don't know if i really stuck to a certain topic or if i was kind of all over the place.. Any comments would be appreciated!
First off, I would like to thank all of you for coming: Parents, friends, teachers, community members, and faculty members. You have all come here to see us off into the next chapter of our lives, and we would not have made it this far without all of your support.
For the 19 graduates of Pateros High School this year, this is the moment we have been waiting for since we started school. To finally be done! Except that we are not done. Despite the many tests, grueling assignments, and never ending homework, these years have been a mere stepping stone to the beginning of our lives.
Growing up, it is easy to overlook the fact that we actually have to get out into the world and start our lives after graduating. Over this past year we seniors have been planning for our futures. The push to fill out what seems like a million scholarships, apply to different colleges, and to try to decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives has not only been in the back of our minds, but staring us in the face every time we walk in Mr. DiStefano's office or get asked what we plan to do next.
How many of you, at some point in your life or another, thought that your parents, or guardians, were just there to further complicate your life? To ruin your fun? I would bet that I am describing most of you. Now, how many of you think that you would not be the person you are today, or made it as far as you did, without your parents or guardians?
I know that without the support system I was given, I would not be standing up here today. For all of you that have encouraged me and believed in me, I thank you. I would especially like to thank my mother. She has sacrificed things for me all of my life, and I did not truly appreciate the things that she has done until about a year and a half ago.
You would all like to believe that your can do things on our own and be okay, and perhaps some of you can. But the fact is, almost everyone needs someone in their lives to lean on. To turn to for help, or even just to get a reassuring, "Every little thing is gonna be alright". You are going to face lots of challenges, and incomprehensible hardships, and you need to remember: it's not just happening to you. It's happening to us all. The important thing to realize is that by extending your hand and either asking for help, or giving help, you are merely being a human being.
If we, the class of 2012, have learned anything these past 12 years, I hope that we have learned to be kind, generous, empathetic, loving, and most importantly, thankful for the family, friends, and teachers we have been so luckily given.
So now that you've endured listening to me stand here and ramble, I would again like to thank you for coming to celebrate the graduating class of 2012!
First off, I would like to thank all of you for coming: Parents, friends, teachers, community members, and faculty members. You have all come here to see us off into the next chapter of our lives, and we would not have made it this far without all of your support.
For the 19 graduates of Pateros High School this year, this is the moment we have been waiting for since we started school. To finally be done! Except that we are not done. Despite the many tests, grueling assignments, and never ending homework, these years have been a mere stepping stone to the beginning of our lives.
Growing up, it is easy to overlook the fact that we actually have to get out into the world and start our lives after graduating. Over this past year we seniors have been planning for our futures. The push to fill out what seems like a million scholarships, apply to different colleges, and to try to decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives has not only been in the back of our minds, but staring us in the face every time we walk in Mr. DiStefano's office or get asked what we plan to do next.
How many of you, at some point in your life or another, thought that your parents, or guardians, were just there to further complicate your life? To ruin your fun? I would bet that I am describing most of you. Now, how many of you think that you would not be the person you are today, or made it as far as you did, without your parents or guardians?
I know that without the support system I was given, I would not be standing up here today. For all of you that have encouraged me and believed in me, I thank you. I would especially like to thank my mother. She has sacrificed things for me all of my life, and I did not truly appreciate the things that she has done until about a year and a half ago.
You would all like to believe that your can do things on our own and be okay, and perhaps some of you can. But the fact is, almost everyone needs someone in their lives to lean on. To turn to for help, or even just to get a reassuring, "Every little thing is gonna be alright". You are going to face lots of challenges, and incomprehensible hardships, and you need to remember: it's not just happening to you. It's happening to us all. The important thing to realize is that by extending your hand and either asking for help, or giving help, you are merely being a human being.
If we, the class of 2012, have learned anything these past 12 years, I hope that we have learned to be kind, generous, empathetic, loving, and most importantly, thankful for the family, friends, and teachers we have been so luckily given.
So now that you've endured listening to me stand here and ramble, I would again like to thank you for coming to celebrate the graduating class of 2012!
