Splash!

Thank you Jyoung for introducing me today. It is my honor to finally address my peers at graduation and to see my friends off into the real world where they will pursue their dreams and aspirations in a seemingly chaotic and impossibly unforgiving world. Thank you fellow graduates of 2022. I thank you for the countless memories we had in class, for the laughs we had over the past few years, for the pain we shared in the late hours we spent doing membean, and for the friendships. I will not forget any of you. Ranging from our freshman year dramas and rivalries to our now senior year friendships, oh how the times have changed. From young to old, from riding in the passenger’s seat to driving in the driver’s seat, from not understanding math to still struggling with the terms and graphs alike. The point is change. Changing and adapting to whatever crazy situation we were thrown into in order to somewhat balance our, now, chaotic lives. Like water, we eventually found our balance sometime over these past few years. 

Splash! Splash the water, splash in the pool, splash in life. I did not understand this concept until recently when I was looking back on old memories. You see, when my family first got a hot tub we enjoyed it so much, we spent hours in there during blizzards watching Steve Harvey or in the afternoons relaxing after a big sporting event. However, I believe my sister wanted a pool far more than a hot tub because she would spend her time trying to swim around with her mermaid tail, but instead she would slap me around with it. Hot water everywhere, my blood pressure rising in anger and frustration with my sister, and my cheeks red with the cold hard slaps of the end of her tail, I could not watch Steve Harvey. Since then I have realized what her, flailing her legs around like a dolphin, and her aggressively splashing the water really meant. To splash means to create sound by causing something to fall or change the shape of a liquid. When we splashed around in the water as young children we commanded change in the water and today although we may be celebrating the accomplishments we had in high school, today is not about that, today is about our splash. It is about our splash in the school, it is about our splash in our own lives, and most importantly it is about our splash in the lives of those around us. Many may measure their success by the money they accumulate or by the fame/popularity they gain in their lives, but life is more than that. To truly live is not to make massive amounts of money or to be loved by all, but to change the lives of others. Life is an endless pursuit in changing the lives of everyone around us.

Crash! Don’t be afraid to crash when you are pursuing your dreams, just don’t burn. Now, I am not suggesting to all of us here that it is okay to crash our car because our insurance and gas prices are already high enough as it is. No, I am actually suggesting to all of us in this room and reminding myself about this because I have had a hard time learning this, to not be afraid to fail, don’t be afraid to lose, just don’t quit. If we all think about it here for a minute, take a deep breath and clear our heads. The only thing guaranteed when we quit something is that we will never accomplish that dream, but when we get up, dust off our knees, and get back in the game we give ourselves a shot. Standing before you here today, proud and excited to find my way in the world I ask of you one last thing: give yourself a shot. Whatever you plan on doing with your life, whatever your dreams or goals might be, just give yourself a shot and I promise you that you will make it. You see, success is measured in the absence of money and fame, but rather in the spotlight of darkness and dedication when no one is watching.