To all my friends, teachers, and those few classmates who actually know my name, do not decide to be silent….

Hello, I’m AMacKenzie. Most of you in this classroom if not all, know the five-letter name my mother decided to name me after watching an episode of Dr. Phil featuring a bratty five-year-old girl promptly also named A, but others do not know that. I guess those four years where I sat idly in the back of the classroom and wouldn’t speak a peep weren’t enough to learn it. However, I’ve come a long way and I promise to not make this all about me but maybe just for a little bit if you all will allow it. 

From what I can remember, I have been silent my whole life, “Avery, you’re so quiet” or “Stacey, Avery is so quiet- why does she never talk?” or more frequently heard “Who is that?” in response to when a teacher calls my name for attendance. I now look back on my freshman self and say you won’t believe where you are now like making faces with LNadeau across Mr. Young’s English Class or actually having the courage to talk to MValliere or laughing with MBaldwin about stupid Instagram reels or having MOrr as a best friend after only saying four words to her “I like your shoes”. However, until now and even in the present moment, I’ve never let myself misspeak or say the wrong things as I had a habit of misspeaking or saying the wrong things especially when I’m nervous. I never wanted to get the answer to a problem wrong and cause myself to think that everyone in the class thinks I’m dumb. And who wants to start a high school essay presentation stuttering over just saying their name? Well, me whether I want to or not.

To quote Taylor Swift from her own commencement speech “In your life, you will misspeak, trust the wrong person, underreact, overreact, hurt people who didn’t deserve it, overthink, not think at all, self-sabotage, create a reality where only your experience exists, ruin perfectly good moments for yourself and others, deny any wrongdoing, not take the steps to make it right, feel very guilty, let the guilt eat at you, hit rock bottom, finally address the pain you caused, try to do better next time, rinse, repeat” I can’t say I’ve ever experienced anything of these things because I’ve never not been quiet. I was always afraid to say anything wrong as I want people to actively like me being the people pleaser I am. So what I say to you is…don’t be silent. Even now, my senior year of Highschool, it is hard to stand in front of you all, not because I think I’m better but because I think I’m lesser, and I can’t help but think how it would be a lot easier if I had maybe just spoken up that one time in class or introduced myself confidently instead of shying away into the corner but I’m sure you all wouldn’t have wanted vomit on your new, un-creased shoes. 

We’ve all been told once in our lives, maybe more, to be quiet. To stop talking. To stop asking “stupid” questions such as how can we eat salad, but not grass. However, I ask you to not ever be quiet, to never stop asking those questions that may be deemed “stupid”. Why? Because I’ve saved myself a lot of living by being quiet, something I will never do again as I haven’t had a normal high school experience. Now, of course, I can’t tell you what to do as I am not qualified to do so, I am just an 18-year-old high school graduate. You’ve worked, and struggled, and sacrificed, studied, dreamed your way here today, all our parents should be proud of us and now they can finally turn our bedrooms into home offices that will more likely than not be used once every blue moon. Not a single one of us here has done it alone, we are each a product of advice, a patchwork quilt if you will, from teachers, friends, family, maybe even pets who knows. Each patch sewn together with threads of love, belief in our futures, empathy, kindness, and or truth when it wasn’t the easiest to take. Obviously, you all know what you’re doing but also maybe not. 

Saving yourself a lot of living is not as great as it sounds. Some of the best memories in your own lives may have been made because of mispronouncing a word, or embarrassing yourself in some way, or introducing yourself to someone new who has now become one of your best friends. Part of growing up and flipping the pages to new chapters is about shouting into the void even if you don’t know what’s out there. It’s about making your mark. How can you make your mark by being silent? Not quiet, silent. I’m not talking about keeping to yourself and talking here and there, I’m talking about keeping to yourself, not talking at all, and never making any rift or rip or crease in the world, in the universe. 

Never not be quiet, and as I’m writing this Mr. Young graciously reminded me to reference the quote on his wall “Do I dare disturb the universe?” by T.S Elliot which means a generation’s actions of inquiry of seeking for a purpose a way to connect with the world and I would call you all to remember this quote, as well as one from my favorite movies, Call Me By Your Name “Is it better to speak, or to die.” which means to speak is to risk the danger, but death is to die misunderstood. If you’re not scared, then you’re not taking a chance. If you’re not taking a chance, then what are you doing anyway? It’s better to speak, be who you are, and make the boldest strokes something I and I hope the rest of you will remember going forward in life. And as the great leader Ariana Grande once said, “She might’ve let you hold her hand in school, but I can show you how to graduate”

“1996 Jocassee Quiet Solitude” by anoldent is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.