Time is Ticking

Good evening, my fellow graduates, staff, family and friends. I would first like to thank everyone in this room. As much as this graduation ceremony is about our success, we owe it to the people who have helped us along the way. Almost everyone here has had an impact in some way on each and every one of these graduates before me. We used to dream of this day, but now it’s here. What once was a thought is now made reality.

High school has taught me so much. From iambic pentameter to the quadratic equation, which if you don’t know is x=-b+-the square root of b squared – 4ac all over 2a. Above all this, I’ve learned, more importantly, life lessons. All of these were learned in different ways, some ideal and others not. Thanks to my course load my junior year and a love for video games, I easily got behind in many classes. I just got by every grade check to make sure I could play the sports I love like soccer, basketball, and baseball. And because of this, I learned what time management was, and how to use it. I still struggle with my procrastination to this day, but after high school, I’m more confident in my ability to prioritize my tasks and make sure they get done in time. I’ve learned also how to lead. The three sports I’ve played have taught me what it takes to be a team. With this, I owe my thanks to my coaches for showing me how to succeed together. A team is a family. Sometimes players will fight like brothers, but it’s important to forgive and love like a brother too. You win and lose as a team, but it comes down to every individual and how much they want to progress.

Oak Hill High School has a multitude of extracurricular activities. I’ve learned how crucial it is to engage in some of these activities. I’ve seen and learned how beneficial trial and error is. I wish I had tried more out while I was at Oak Hill. Thankfully I found something I love through LRTC as I am pursuing precision machining after high school. But I wish I would’ve explored more while I had the freedom. Now we approach a large world with even larger responsibilities, and our freedom of trial and error is dwindling. High school has taught me how to be myself. I’ve learned how important it is to not follow others around you but make decisions to do good. Don’t be pressured by social matters, but seek success on your own path.

High School was a dog fight at times, taking a great deal of effort and focus to accomplish what needed to be done. But thanks to what I’ve learned from high school along the way and the people who helped me get here, I now have confidence for my future. I’m excited for this next chapter of life and give my fellow classmates the best of wishes out in our big complex world. I hope you all have taken the most you can out of your high school experience and apply it to your lives in the future. On my behalf, I thank Oak Hill for educating me into the man I am today and teaching me the life lessons that I’ll carry with me my whole life.

Thank you.

“graduation” by sovietmole is licensed under CC BY 2.0.