Graduation Speech: The Best Year Of My Life In The United States

“On behalf of Emirates and the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice evening!” These words were the start of my 15-month adventure in a foreign country, meeting people I’ve barely met, and experiencing things I’ve never thought I would experience.

On April 18,2015, my family and I flew about 13,500 kilometers from Manila to Houston, Texas to take up an offer by a family friend to stay in the country for a period of time. My third year of high school just ended, which was arguably the best year of my life so far. A few days ago, I said my last goodbyes to my friends and relatives in the Philippines, as I didn’t know when was the
Due to the nature of my school in the Philippines, I almost skipped a grade: I was half a credit short of doing so. The thought of that surprised me, but I felt excited to start my school year in the US. During the first two days of school, I was able to make my first Filipino friend: we both had birthdays in April, and we arrived in the US one month apart, which was very coincidental. During the school year, I also joined choir, and my passion for singing became ignited. Coming from a science high school, I didn’t have many opportunities to pursue the arts as the school focused on math and science. Going to choir was fun: we practiced for about an hour, and we sang a variety of musical pieces throughout the entire year. The camaraderie that I had with my friends in choir was enjoyable, and I was happy that I was able to tell it to my friends, and encourage them to come. It felt like I was part of something big, and something very
My junior year of high school, I came out of my shell, and I became more sociable and more open to other people. I joined choir once again, and I took more advanced classes than I did when I was a sophomore. My social skills improved, and I had more friends as a result.In a span of a month, I went to two football games to feel school spitir. I made sure that I had no regrets when I eventually left the country. Once we decided to leave in November 2017, I was content.My time passed, and it was time to go back and have more fun in the Philippines. When I arrived back in the Philippines, I felt the heat of Manila through my thick jacket, but I also felt a new opportunity to do something