Graduation Speech

Well, graduation is tomorrow, and guess who has been chosen to speak! No Amy, not Gwen Stefani, me! And since many of you out there in cyberspace will not be at the Albert M. Lowry High School graduation ceremonies, here is my speech.

Laurel Clark, a physician and astronaut on the space shuttle Columbia once explained, “Boats are perfectly safe in the harbor, but that’s not what boats were built for.” He was, of course, speaking on the dangers of space travel, but his words say so much more. They urge us out of the safety and comfort of our harbors and into the unknown, for better or worse. As we sit here, we are on the cusp of embarking on a voyage into that unknown, and each of our voyages will be a bit different. Some of us will hit rougher seas than others, but merely by leaving the harbor, we have already shunned failure.
If anyone sitting here tonight says they’re not unsure about the future, they are not being honest. We are all unsure, worried, about that which awaits us beyond the comfort of our childhoods. It’s only natural to be wary, but we are ready, for every boat must have a captain before leaving on its voyage, and for thirteen years of school, we have been training to sail. Now is our time. It is our turn to take control of our own lives and steer ourselves in the direction we choose.
I would offer advice on choosing the right direction, but frankly, I have none. The only person who knows the right route for you, is you. But that is part of what tonight is all about. In addition to celebrating our accomplishments, we are declaring a new found independence. With that independence comes the responsibility to forge our own path in life, to decide which currents to follow, and which winds to fill our sails. It is up to us to know what risks we take, what consequences we avoid, and what destination we arrive at.
For those of you tonight who have helped us to get here, it may be hard to watch as we leave the safety you have created for us, but that was the goal all along. Rather than sadness, focus instead on the success. You’ve given us the tools, the materials, the helpful hands, and the watchful eyes needed to prepare our boats, and ourselves, to leave the harbor and face whatever storms lie before us. For that, we can never thank you enough. But now it’s time to watch us go, just as you once left the people who helped build your boats. Have confidence in us, for tonight, we have confidence in ourselves.
To the class of 2008, I could not have asked for a better group of peers to spend my childhood with. And now it is time for us to embark together, to leave the safety and comfort we have grown up with and find our own. After all, that’s what we were built for, right?

So there that is...