Graduation: High School and New Ball Game

My name is --------- and first I would like to thank everyone in my life that has helped me to reach this very moment. Id likes to thank my family for being there every step of the way. To all of my teachers, thank you for pushing me to do my best and grading my papers hours on end. I’m grateful for all my friends, family, teachers, and peers, without you guys none of this would be possible. As the graduation class of 2014 id like to praise everyone for making it to this moment in our lives. I think we can all agree by saying this was not the easiest thing in the world. It seems like just yesterday we were all freshman, panicking to find our class on the first day of school, trying to memorize our locker combinations, praying that we would know somebody in our class. These past four years yet, almost seem like a blur. Freshman year was something I never expected. Classes scattered around the school, unfamiliar faces every corner you turn. I remember thinking I will never look like the seniors, they just look so old and mature, but here I am, hoping some freshman is saying that about me. Sophomore year was a whole new ball game. You knew the roles of a highschooler but still an underdog. School became more of a dramatic reality series than an educational experience. Then there was junior year; we finally had the hang of things. Taking classes that we chose on our own. The word college starts to be thrown around more often than not. By this time junior year most are ready to get out of highschool, but anxious for the big year, senior year. Well what’s so great about senior year? The classes are harder. More homework is assigned. You’re given a senior paper that your school career basically depends on, but then there’s the freedom. The joy of only going 4 or 5 classes a day really helps when trying to enjoy the year. By now your classes involve an English, maybe a math or science, and then what ever you want. That’s not even the best part. The best thing about senior year is it’s our last year of high school. Now’s the time when mom and dad finally let go. After today we walk into the world as whole new people. Besides all the education parts of school, we’ve learned so much more. High school taught me it doesn’t matter how you dress, or what sports you play, it doesn’t matter if you’re in band, or if you’re on the forensic team, everyone is different in his or her own way. One thing I wish I had figured out before now is it didn’t matter what I wore to school. Trying to fit in shouldn’t have been such a worry. Things that made you “cool” freshman year wont matter after today. After today nobody is going to hand you a job because you had a lot of friends. High school taught me to be my own person. It taught me that you really cant judge a book by its cover. High school came with its lessons. For some its mistakes and heartbreaks, for others it was just trying to do well in school and activities. Now we are here though. For all those times I’ve stayed up all night studying, and canceled plans to do school work, it finally pays off. All the hard work we’ve done has now been worth it.

So now that we are done with high school, its time to look ahead into the future. A few years from now we are going to look back at highshcool and talk about our accomplishments and all the ridiculous things we’ve done. We will all probably laugh and wonder why we did some of those crazy things. But one thing we need to remember is our accomplishments will prove to be our journey, not a destination. So what is next for us? For some of us its college, maybe to play a sport or be in the marching band. For some of us it may be joining a fraternity or sorority. Some of us will go on to serve our country in the military. One this is certain for all of us. We were once the future, but now the future is here and today’s world now relies in our hands. I have great faith in all of us that we can become something great. I believe this class of 2014 will accomplish great things beyond today. “Set out each day believing in your dreams. Know without a doubt that you were made for great things.” ~ Josh Hinds. With that statement, Id like to say one last thing. Congratulations, graduations class of 2014!