Commencement Speech

This speech was written and is being said for me, in front of anyone who watches my video on Flipgrid and read by my english teacher, Mrs. Chick. Other than that, it is my last assignment and paper I will ever write for Oak Hill High School. I can’t compare my experience with anyone else’s because every situation is unique although many might be similar. For me highschool was just another milestone to get to where I need to be. A task that had to be accomplished, it was not anything special in my eyes. I remember 8th grade graduation like it just the other day. For the second time in my life I had made my way up to the highschool gymnasium where I was handed an award for graduating middle school. Whoopie! I was so proud of myself for making it out and getting into the big kid school finally. Just like any other freshman I was worried about what I was walking into. Who was going to like me, what teachers I would have, which classes both me and my friends were in together, the usual. I soon came to learn that highschool was far from what I expected. Really unlike any movie I’ve seen.

  On my first day I got the warmest welcome ever from the staff of the highschool, I was shown around and excused multiple times from going to the wrong classroom or showing up late due to a confusion on my end. For the first time, I joined football cheering, something I did not think I would be very into but my friends were doing it so why not. I came to find out I really liked it, everyone was so nice and I wasn’t half bad at the routine or cheers we learned. I would have to say this team was the best I’ve ever been a part of. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and yeah, I got the back hand of things from other students or friends a few times but I knew it wouldn’t always be positive. I also joined the basketball and the softball team but I soon came to find out I was the outcast. I was never the best at either sport but basketball was my absolute favorite activity I’ve ever done, I’ve been playing since elementary school. I played it more for fun, don’t get me wrong, I loved the competition and working hard for the win but I’ve always had really bad knees which made it hard for me to give my 100% all the time. I loved everything about the sport and I stuck with it for as long as I could, but after taking the dirty looks and rude comments from teammates and bystanders for two years I learned that it was just bringing me down more than anything. So, I decided to quit the school team and just play with friends at an off school ground court. After this experience I started looking elsewhere for activities. I ended up taking three dance classes at a school in Greene and joining a competitive cheering team that traveled the US. It was a lot of fun! After my senior year of football cheering I decided to put sports to bed and focus on my job to save up as much money as I could for when I graduated. 

Freshman year was an experience I’ll never forget. All the teachers were so nice, I explored different friend groups and tried new things I’ve never done before. It seemed like everyone knew who I was and people cared for me and how I was doing in and out of school. I piled up my classes leaving myself without a study hall and honestly it wasn’t bad at all. I left freshman year passing with honors and ready for my sophomore year coming up in the fall with yet again another full schedule. But sophomore year was different. As always on the first day everyone got a warm welcome but as the school year went on I did not feel as important to the school community anymore, I had very few people I called friends, less and less teachers took interest in me, and I was losing interest in everything I ever cared about in my previous school years. I eventually just came to the conclusion of focusing on my work and graduating. Junior year rolled around and it was much the same as sophomore year. The only thing I was really looking forward to was LRTC, I had gotten into my first choice, automotives. As the year went on I grew to love the career and choose to do that for a good chunk of my life. The one and only teacher I called a friend had left throughout this year and it really made me feel alone. Not too soon after Oak Hill hired a resource officer that took her place as my closest staff friend. I went to him about things more than I went to my actual friends. He was a huge help in getting me through my tough classes and life events. 

As junior year came to an end I started to figure myself and my friends out a bit more and started making permanent decisions to better myself for the future and to surround myself with people who had my best interest in mind. I always paid attention to which friendships were one sided and I let it slide, but after a while I had enough. Overall the year was not very good, so I told myself I would make my senior year the best. Then the end of junior year rolled around and it was summer. Before senior year even started I had a nasty case of senioritis. I did not want to go back. My schedule was pretty empty and I only had to attend Oak Hill every other day due to LRTC. It wasn’t half bad, I made many friends out of school and started to find better people to surround myself with. The year was going pretty good until COVID came along and turned it into a mess. Due to COVID I, and every senior, will be missing out on many opportunities we will not get back. Previous grads tell me all the time how lucky us seniors are to have this pandemic happen at this time for us but really it’s the opposite. We’re missing out on many things that we have looked forward to all four years of our highschool career but as there is nothing we can do about it, I’ve learned to just go with the flow. And that is one of the things I have learned about myself during my journey through highschool.

 Going with the flow is the thing I noticed I do most. Yes, I do my own thing and put my opinion out there. I stand independent a lot of the time but when it comes to things I can’t control I’ve learned going with the flow is so much easier than putting up a fuss about it. It doesn’t just make it easier for me but for everyone around me. Nine other things I’ve learned about myself through highschool include, I try my best with everything. I always follow an activity through until it is over, I just won’t go back the next year. I never call it quits, no matter how much I want to sometimes. I am a very personable and caring human being, whether someone is my friend or a complete stranger I always lend my hand. I’ve learned that I surround myself with older people sometimes with an age difference of 6 or 7 years. It’s always been easier for me to connect and enjoy my time with older friends. I also have learned that I have one of the worst sailors’ mouths I’ve ever heard. I don’t try either, it just happens. I’ve learned that public speaking is not my thing, in fact speaking out in front of any crowd is not anything I enjoy. My face always turns a bright red and my body heats up to the point where I start sweating. I’ve learned that no other school knows what FLIP or Membean is. Oak Hill is one of a kind. Being popular is not a high priority of mine. During freshman year I tried my hardest to fit in with everyone but I soon found out that being my own person gravitates the crowd I want to surround myself with. I was never very caught up with the trends. I never owned a pair of moccasins, Crocs, or Uggs until it was required from my cheering team. I never went over the top to buy designer clothes or a Hydro flask. I’ve never owned a pair of AirPods or anything that was trending during its time. I realized that items are not what I need to make me, me. I bought and filled my time with things I enjoyed whether I was alone or with a crowd. The last thing I learned is to always enjoy the little things. For example in my case, finishing a paper I’ve been procrastinating on or getting up in front of the class and presenting an assignment and not butchering it. Learning how to fix new things on vehicles and picking up new skills like riding a dirt bike or playing the saxophone. Helping someone in a time of need, taking a day to myself. The small things that won’t matter in ten years but that matter in the moment. The only advice I have to leave by for the upcoming highschoolers of Oak Hill is to be yourself, try new things, and never give up. 

Photo on Foter.com