Commencement Speech

Good morning my fellow classmates of 2018. Today we are here to celebrate for all of our blood, sweat, and tears in which most of us call formatives and summatives. Soon we’ll be walking across this stage collecting our diplomas, the reward for all of our pain and suffering. Since freshman year we have been dreaming of our graduation night and becoming an adult. Now here it is, only a few more days away. We have been pushing and striving for the end of senior year to get here. Although, how much of the important things did we really take away?

No. I am not talking about summatives, sweet sixteen parties, or even our graduation night. I am talking about all of the little things we take for granted. All we want to do is to go out in the real world. Whether that real world be college, traveling, or going out into the workforce, we still need to take time to notice the world around us. We rush through life so much that we don’t take time to rejoice and appreciate the little things that make it so we can reach where we want to be.

We as a generation do not take time to enjoy our surroundings. For example, I went for a walk the other day with a friend. We were walking through the woods and I was just enjoying their company. I wasn’t enjoying the little things about it. I enjoyed the sights around me, but I didn’t take a moment to step back and listen. I noticed all of the fiddleheads growing up into ferns; all of the small blue flowers along the sides of the trails; the bridge that had been broken due to a snowmobile was taken across it when there was a sign that said no snowmobiles allowed. I didn’t notice the peaceful sounds of the birds tweeting, or the stream’s water hitting all the rocks in its path. I didn’t take the time to care about the smell of the dew on the grass or the dandelion that I had picked.

In life we strive for the big goals and most of the time we don’t care how we get there. We don’t pay attention to our mom buying us gingerale, doing our laundry or, putting up with our emotional selves during our first high school break up. We don’t pay attention to how our parents make sure we had a good day after they come home from a long day of work. We don’t even pay attention to how they do the dishes, clean up after us and make us supper for us when they are tired. All of these little things someday we will go without, and I promise you, it will be missed greatly.

As many of you do not know, I moved out of my mother’s house not long ago. Now here I am missing asking her “what’s for supper?”, or just the simplicity of telling her how my day was at work or school. All of those little things I took for granted I am now missing as I drive to my apartment or pondering on what to eat. I was pushing to move out so much this last year of my high school career that I never took the time or appreciated how much my mom truly helped me. I feel like a sheep who has run away from the herd and my shepard who now has no clue what to do for my next step.

I will tell you, “adulting” is not easy. All of the little moments that can put a smile on your face now seem impossible to pay attention to. Now all you are doing is worrying about groceries, your car, gas and any other type of bill that comes along. Saving money seems almost impossible with how often a bill is coming up. A lot of my life I have not noticed the little things  while I pushed to just get through, and I majorly regret it.

What I am getting at is take time to notice the little things. Take the time to notice how the brook sounds or how the grass smells when it is freshly cut. Go home and make your parents supper, maybe do the laundry, or even just tell them “thank you” for all those times that they have done things for you. Still reach for your goals and dream big, but never forget to appreciate all those little things that get you there. Thank you class of 2018 and good luck in your future endeavors.

Photo by clevercupcakes on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND