Help with Graduation Speech

Good morning! First I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for waking up early and being with us here today. I think that it is only right to begin today the same way we began many class activities here at Lauralton…with an icebreaker. Ok I want everyone to take five M & M's and go around and…no, no. I'm just kidding! Seriously, thank you parents, students, faculty, and everyone else for joining us here today.

I think you should lose all that. If not, lose the icebreaker. This section and the next one are sort of noise about you. Some is fine, and probably very common--but these first two sections, IMO, is a bit much to basically say Hi.

When I was sitting at my computer trying to figure out what to say to today I could not believe how hard the task ahead of me was. It was like the school had said to me, "Congratulations on all your hard work. Now as a reward we are going to have you write a speech summing up the most eventful four years of your life and discussing a future you know nothing about. You will then have to deliver this speech on one of the most important days of your life in front of hundreds of people, including your family, friends, teachers and just about anyone else who matters to you. Oh yea…and you will have less than two weeks to write it! Enjoy!" To make matters worse, until today I have never attended a high school graduation before so my references were limited. Therefore I did what any responsible teenager of the 21st Century does when they need research…I looked online! I read through many high school graduation speeches which had kids discussing how they could not think of anything profound to say and then go on to say something, well, profound. Or how they could not possibly sum up the past four years of high school and then continue to do just that! And after reading all these speeches I still had no idea what I could say here today that would appeal to everyone, not sound cliché or repetitive, and be somewhat meaningful.

Actually, I think you could lose almost all of that. Maybe a sentence about how you want to say something meaningful... But maybe not even that. Too much about you.


Then, the other day I was in the shower and I started thinking about these past four years as a whole, because we all know that some of the greatest thinking is done in the shower. What I finally came up with was just how amazing this experience has really been. I mean, come on, where else can you bring some many people together from so many different places, stick them in small 8 x 10 rooms, subject them to six hours of lectures, tests, quizzes, and papers, for approximately 120 days a years, four years straight, and have a survival rate of 100%???

I thought that was sort of cute.

High school itself almost defies nature when you think about it! As I was pondering how Lauralton everyday breaks all the rules of nature, I began to remember how there is a theory of evolution that claims a species evolves more during a cataclysmic event, and can anyone find a more cataclysmic event than high school?

I really liked this for a 'thesis statement' or topic idea.

As much as we hate to admit it, we have all grown as a result of the things we experienced over these past four years. When we entered here, we were young, immature freshmen from all over the state. We knew some, if any, of our classmates and had no idea what to expect of our time at Lauralton. Well we have come along way from that awkward group that recited that infamous cheer at the pep rally. As we prepare to leave today, I look out at a group of confident, young women who are ready to take on the world. We have been accepted to some of the best schools in the country and have succeeded greatly in areas such as athletics, theater, art, music, and summer jobs. It amazes me how much we have grown in such a short time. But I guess that's what happens to a species of girls when they are thrown into this cataclysmic event called high school.

Good. You could go a little deeper into this, I think.

One of the biggest reasons we have been able to grow and change is because of the undying support of our friends, family, and teachers who have seen us through this chaotic time. Without these people, I have to admit the survival rate of Lauralton maybe somewhere like 50% instead of 100.

Would it have been mass suicides? A Columbine type thing? This is what came to my mind when you hit on the survival rate again. The first time, it seemed natural. I'm just telling you what someone might take away from it. Others may not think of that.

Our parents are the ones who give us advice, comfort us when things don't go our way, celebrate our achievements, and most importantly, provide us with the financial resources to get that cute new skirt for out college interviews. Our parents have seen us through it all and they will be the ones who will continue to be there for us in years to come. Our teachers also deserve a round of applause. Although they have been the subject of many curses and lunchtime complaints, they have prepared us for the many challenges we will find in college and later in our careers. Although it's hard for me to believe now, I have to trust the stories and advice of previous alumnae who say that Mrs. Horton's essay tests or Mrs. Pulion's scantrons made the work in college seem easy.

Good personalization and shared experiences, IMO.

Being the skeptic I am, I can only hope that this will hold true for our class as well. Finally, if each of my fellow graduates looks around, they will see the group that means more to a teenage girl than anyone else: her friends. Our friends are the ones we can relate to the most. The ones we can share are deepest secrets with and keep things in perspective when we fail to do so ourselves. Without our friends, high school would be unbearable. So as we go out into the world, we cannot forget those who have helped us along the way. The people who love us and care for us are the most important people in life. Without them, we would have no one to help us through the bad times, or share with us the good times.
Today is a day for celebration, a day to remember the past and also look to the future. Many of us however, may not know what the future holds. We are uncertain of the future, but that's ok. I am reminded of a passage from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland with the Cheshire Cat and Alice. It goes like this:
'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where --' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'--so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.
In the end I think that is what we all want: to just get somewhere. And although we may not know where that is yet, we can thank this cataclysmic event of high school for helping us to grow and prepare to take on the world and all the new challenges we may face along the way. Congratulations Class of 2004! We made it!

I really liked the ending quote, and your comparative comment. That was strong, to me.


Thanks again for the help.