Valedictorian Advice

would anyone be willing to edit this before i submit it? just about flow and message? i think it got lost a few times. : )


Good morning ladies and gentlemen, parents, community members, teachers, classmates, family and friends. I am honoured to stand before you today as one of the valedictorians for the (school name)'s graduating class of 2011. After I had been told I was going to write this speech I sought out my English teacher, Mr Griffin for guidance. I asked him what I should tell all of you as I stand here today. He told me I needed to speak of something inspirational and hopefully touch everyone in this room with my words. On that note, I would like everyone to raise their right hand. Now, when I say, please place it on the shoulder of the person to your right. Please do so now. Mr Griffin, there you go, my speech has touched everyone.

Over the past four years we have all perfected our technical skills, increased our academic knowledge, and for some of us, learned new and fascinating ways to use plastic wrap. However, that is not what today is about. Arie Penovaci had once said, “Graduation is not a day, but a concept. In real life, you graduate every day. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life.” Today is not about all we have accomplished, but all that we will accomplish. Therefore, I decided it would be a good idea to give my classmates advice before they graduate. However, I am no wiser than those seated behind me. I have not accomplished any impossible feats—I have not climbed Mount Everest nor have I figured out why Mrs J Brown always shouts into the PA system. So I decided to instead, tell you all about advice that has been passed down to me from one of my uncles. When I was twelve he handed me a sheet of paper with something he liked to call the Five Rules of Maybe.

He liked used the word maybe as a synonym for hope. It is a word that holds the power of possibilities. Maybe is loaded with trust--to put faith in the light at the end of the tunnel. It means to stop wishing and start working. However, ‘maybe’ does not guarantee everything will turn out perfect. After all, more often than not we get what we need and not what we wished for late at night. Maybe means resilience, it means you win occasionally, not more often, but maybes count when you need it the most.

Number one: Respect the power of hope and possibilities. Begin with belief. Hold on to it. Hope is something you should never give up. If you lose everything else, never lose your hope in yourself and in this world. Hope fixes anything that once was broken. Hope has built nations—it has built a path when nothing else could. Hope has saved lives. So what I say to all of you is never lose your hope—don’t give it away and don’t ever let it go, after all, there is hope in hope itself. Your hope is a part of you and it is just as priceless as you are.

Number two: If you know where you want to go, you are already there. Know what you desire, but more importantly why you desire it. Figure it out; then go. Do not let someone else control your dreams; after all, misguided persistence is worse than no persistence at all. { I once knew a man who really wanted to be a professional ice cream taster; of course, everyone told him there was no money in that job. So he became a software engineer and hadn’t smiled in about fifteen years. About six months ago he had a heart attack. He ended up quitting his job and now travels around the world tasting ice cream and he has never stopped smiling. Although I made this entire story up, the situation rings true. Before you begin, know where you’re ending and if it’s really truly what you want and nobody else. } ? Be who you want to be and not who others want you to be.

Number three: hopes, dreams and desire require a clear path—get out of your own way. One of the saddest things in life is to see wasted potential. I wholeheartedly believe every single person in this room has the ability to do something great with their lives. There is not a single person graduating from our class who I do not believe has the ability to live life and be happy. Make sure you believe in yourself, because if you do not, no one else should either. Never, ever underestimate yourself or your power to change your own life.

Number four: place hope and trust carefully in other’s as well as your own hands. Do not expect anyone else to help you reach your hopes and dreams—that is no one’s responsibility but your own. In the same way, you are the only person who can really truly hurt yourself. Be careful with the trust you present yourself with—remember to make sound decisions, and remember to be good to yourself.

And finally, number five: because not everything in life is going to be easy, remember to persist when necessary.

Maybe I am sitting amongst the next Prime Minister of Canada or maybe it’s the researcher who finds the cure to cancer. Maybe I am standing in front of teenager who will one day be great parents. Maybe to my left is someone who will become an inspiration to others. To my right, someone may be sitting who saves a life. Maybe one day some of us will overcome a difficult personal battle. Maybe every one of us will be successful, and maybe we will be happy. Right now, these are all ‘maybes,’ because until we leave this stage we have not starting hoping and trying.

(school name)'s Class of 2011, I ask you all to try and fail, but never fail to try. Thank you.