Good evening, everyone.
The bad news is, I’m the last speech of the evening, so I really feel like everyone just sort of stole my thunder, and I’m worried that this speech won’t live up to the standard set by its predecessors… however, the good news is – I’m the last speech of the evening!
Someone asked me if I was nervous about speaking tonight. And – well, yes, I admit to being just slightly unnerved by all this. A lot of you also had some – shall we say – creative input, on how I should conduct my speech. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) I am not quite brave enough to implement any of your suggestions, so please bear with me. However, I may be nervous, and I may be unsure, but I also know that the magic of this evening will lend eloquence to whatever I choose to say, be they hackneyed phrases or timeworn clichés… tonight, at least, I will be able to carry them off with panache.
So let me begin by following in the footsteps of possibly every single valedictorian before me, and give thanks where thanks are due. Firstly, of course, I must address the teachers; you are certainly an inalienable part of the high school experience. You have taught us so many worthwhile lessons, perhaps unconsciously for some of them. For instance, I know there was never a more poignant lesson learned than at 11 p.m. on a Sunday evening, when you suddenly realize that the project you had been avoiding for the past month is due in less than ten hours. We’ve all been there, done that; we all know that procrastination is bad for you and has a tendency to murder sleep. Are we still going to do it? Definitely, yes. But it was a lesson hard-learned and well-taught, nonetheless. So, to the teachers who were easy on us, I know I have the support of every one of my peers here tonight when I say that you have our fervent, fervent thanks. Thank you also to the teachers who were not so easy on us, for pushing us to new heights, and bringing us to where we are today.
Also among those who deserve our sincerest thanks are, of course, our families, who have truly been with us every step of this journey. This is a very bittersweet moment, none more so than for those who have painstakingly watched over us throughout all these years. You probably witness this milestone with happiness, pride, wonderment – mostly with relief – but I trust that there is some regret and nostalgia also. No matter how far we fly, we will never forget who gave us our wings.
This is a night of celebration; a time to celebrate how far we’ve come – which is certainly quite far; how far we have yet to go – even further still; and a time to celebrate what we have shared within these walls for the past four years. Lots of laughter, lots of tears, lots of fun, lots of moments we will remember forever, and lots of moments we probably can’t wait to forget. We’ve had our share of bitterness and resentment, like the pumpkin we never got to blow up in chemistry, or that one snow day the rest of Airdrie got off but we didn’t… but now it’s time let go of all that, and only look back upon the brighter aspects of our past here. We’ve grown so much – I remember when we were all ninth-graders (who thought we were all that) and now… well, I guess now we’re twelfth-graders who think we’re all that. In all seriousness, we really have developed in so many ways. Compared to what we were four years ago, we are so much stronger, so much wiser – and for some of us… slightly taller too! Congratulations.
It is generally acknowledged that in high school, we learn just as much outside the classroom as we do within its walls, our friends being the teachers in this case. They say that friendship has no survival value; rather, it gives value to survival. Here we have built many solid foundations to friendships that will last a lifetime, and each of those friendships is a priceless treasure that we will carry with us far, far into the future. Together we made happy memories – metaphorical sunshine and rainbows, if you will – and probably more drama than was, strictly speaking, healthy for us. We did, however, get through high school together, and that is not an accomplishment to be taken lightly.
I look out upon all of you, and find myself struck with admiration – not only for that, but for the fact that we are so strong and remarkable across the board. Artists, athletes, musicians, writers, performers, scholars… well equipped to change the world, and for all our look of uniformity, dressed in identical caps and gowns as we are, we each of us bring something truly unique to this group. Our talents are the colourful shards of a shifting kaleidoscope image, and together we create something truly breathtaking.
As to the future, I can wish nothing better for us than this: that we will always get our fill of knowledge, but never lose our hunger for it; that we will forever turn our obstacles into stepping stones; that when opportunity knocks, we will never fail to answer; that our dreams will always fill up the horizon, leaving no room for regrets; and that we will live each day as though it were our last, but greet it with the enthusiasm of our first.
Cheers, to a brilliant class, and an equally brilliant future.
