What We Have All Worked For

Hello, class of 2023 as we sit here today we rethink all we have done throughout high school. Starting back to the first day of school, getting lost in the hallways of this tiny school and, wishing that we were already seniors. The anxiety of finding a seat next to your friends and how hard the classes are going to be, the stress of what lunch we had and what if we weren’t able to find a spot to sit, to just being the youngest once again. Looking back I think we could all agree that we had nothing to worry about, I mean look at us now sitting here ready to move on and become freshmen again, waiting for what’s to come all over again, wishing that we knew what is to come and what challenges we will have to face. Wishing that all we had to worry about was finding our childhood friends at lunch or figuring out where room 103 is and what she is like, even though now we all know Mrs.Feds is nothing to be scared of and will talk about what current drama is going on or who is with who. Just saying Feds I am still your little bunny.

We have all learned lessons throughout school. The average ones like “don’t plagiarize” and “keep your eyes on your own paper”, and these lessons seem so obvious or ridiculous but we don’t think of them as real-life lessons. If we stop for a second and take them into a bigger picture we can find something bigger than just the obvious. The first lesson of my senior year was to stop copying what others are doing. Stop plagiarizing other people’s lives. Be yourself and create the person you want to be instead of what others are. Another lesson I’ve learned is to keep your eyes on your own life, we always watch what others are doing and how their life is going but not what is going on in our own life. Time passes by way too fast for us to be focused on other people’s lives, so if I could give one piece of advice to all of you it would be to slow down and take everyday one day at a time, focus on the present instead of the past or future. We dwell on what is to come or what has already happened instead of living in the moment. So, live in the moment, stop watching other people’s lives, and stop copying what your friends are doing or the person you envy to be. Be your truest self because you truly only get one chance. 

When I started writing this I had no clue what I was going to say, I mean I knew I had to say the obvious but I wanted this speech to mean something not just the typical “thanks for everything and goodbye” type of thing.  Apparently, we are supposed to tell a story about our childhood that we remember still to this day, it’s supposed to remind us of who we once were and what we are going to miss. Honestly, I can’t remember much from my younger grades, small things like planting cactuses with Mrs. Williams and Miss. Mills goldfish with the little “NO FISHING” sign in its little bowl, but a set story doesn’t come to mind when I think of being a little kid playing on playgrounds or running through the halls at our tiny little schools. I guess the story I could tell would be how I really got here today because honestly most of you are to thank. It’s been a struggle for me, the first three years of school were hard. I didn’t ever want to come to school, never loved going to school events, and even begged my mom to switch me to Gardiner or Cony because I hated this “barn”. The irony in that is that I actually hate those schools more than I hate Oak Hill, so thank you, Mom. By the end of junior year, things changed for me, I started to actually try in school, or at least for me it was trying even if I did fail junior English, sorry Mrs. Chick and Jyoung98 but at least I got it done right. But as school ended and we went into what would be our last summer as high school students I started to become myself again, I played Oak Hill soccer for the first time in two years all because this brown-haired girl thought it was a fun idea which actually turned out to be probably the worst season in Oak Hill history for girl soccer, again Jyoung98 I’m sorry but thank you for dealing with our little team and my injured self. Continuing into the winter that same brown-haired girl decided we should play basketball as “one last thing!” this ended up probably again the worst idea for me but I wouldn’t change anything about it, even after all the trips to D.J or the pain I still deal with, and the doctor appointments we still go to (sorry about that mom), I still wouldn’t take any of it back. I would like to thank that beautiful brown-haired girl, she’s the reason I am who I am today, the reason I have become my true self again, the reason I continuously try to better myself, and the reason I enjoy coming to this tiny little school every day even when I most definitely do not want to. She’s the reason I’m standing here today getting ready to finally be done, so PGonya23 I hope you realize that what our friendship has become is something I will cherish every day of my life even when I am 1,906.7 miles away or if it makes you feel any better just a short 29 hours away. Thank you to Mrs. Federico for letting Pgonya23, CSaucier, CScott, and I all into your room for period 3 white days and creating the friend group I have today. Thank you to CSaucier23 for always laughing with me when we are way too tired to even be awake. Thank you to CScott23 for always annoying me but also being one of my best friends. Also thanks for making me want to or actually needing to throw up in English after every lunch! Thank you to all the people in my life today, the ones who have been there through the good days and the bad days because we all know there has been a lot of them. Thank you to the teacher who didn’t give up on me even when I definitely should’ve failed their class, and the teachers who pushed me to try harder. Thank you to English for teaching me that I hate membean and that we will never truly know if Hamlet has an Oedipus Complex or not. Thank you and I will forever appreciate you all. 

Thank you Class of 2023 for all you have taught me. I enjoyed my 4 years here even if this school is a barn but hey what can I say I’m as happy as a trash panda with a fresh dumpster to be done. Raider Pride Baby!

“Wiregrass Ranch High School graduation 2022” by Pasco Schools is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.