Valedictory Address

Mr. Berg, Members of the Board of Education, Faculty, Parents, Classmates, and Friends…

For the past 13 years, we have gone to school together as a class. From kindergarten with Mrs. Thomas to our final English and math classes with Mrs. Caniff and Mr. Keener, we have learned everything from counting and spelling to writing and trigonometry. We were not always enthusiastic about learning, but [we] have gained enough knowledge to make it to this point… graduation.

The classroom is not the only place for learning, however. We have learned from sports, music, and activities and organizations. From sports we have learned about teamwork and sportsmanship. From band we have learned leadership, responsibility, and commitment. Through organizations we have learned the value of service. I believe that these extracurricular activities are an essential part of the high school learning experience.

When you live and learn with the same people for 13 years, you end up spending an incredible amount of time with them. During that time, we have learned many things from each other. We have shared our experiences with life and death and love and we have learned from each other’s experiences as much as we have from our own. Many of us have become as close as a family and we have learned that families don’t always get along as well as we would like. But we have also learned that, like a family, we would be there for each other in our times of need. Within the past week, my friends and I have learned one more thing: “that the hardest part of love is letting go.”

We have learned from our families. We have learned from the classes ahead of us and from our under-classmates. After we leave here tonight, we will continue to learn until the day we die.

I closing, I would like to present some of the things I have learned in my life. Some of them were taught to me by people here tonight: my classmates, my under-classmates, my teachers, and my family. Some of the things I have tried to teach others. Some of them I have taught myself.
• Keep firm commitments
• Smile
• Be a leader, not a boss
• Use deodorant
• Remember that “it’s not just what you do, but what you do it for—and for whom”
• Don’t be big headed
• Take a long, hot bath when you are stressed out.
• Do the right thing
• Don’t wait until the last minute to start your research paper (or speech)
• Listen to Christmas music
• Give people presents for no reason
• When you feel lost, remember that “love will find a way”
• Don’t cheat
• Plant a tree (or 35)
• Always remember that someone looks up to you
• Don’t be wasteful
• Don’t drink and drive
• Keep your grades up
• Just say “no”
• Be strong and courageous
• Look at the stars
• Play in the snow
• Always save your file on two disks
• Be yourself
• Look at old yearbooks
• Share your talents with others
• Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Hug your friends
• Don’t keep your emotions bottled up inside

And the most important to me…
• “When the evil go east, go west young man.”

My thoughts to live life by...
Thank you and good luck.