Salutatory
I gave this yesterday...
Greetings everyone. Thanks for coming out tonight. I received a lot of different suggestions for what kind of speech to deliver and I’ll try to honor all of them. So this speech will be funny and serious, short and long, and I will mention 78 of you by name.
This school year has been like a dream for me. But I don’t mean it was all magic and wonder. It wasn’t like that dream where you live in a magic candy store and you ride a dinosaur made out of chocolate, eating pieces of his head until you wake up with a big smile on your face. I assume everyone here has had that dream too.
What I mean is that this year has been dream-like. For example, only in my wildest reveries did I see myself finally on the verge of graduation. And the new dress code helped realize my dream that all of the school’s horrible gangs would stop fighting and unite for a single cause: complaining about the dress code. I also had a beautiful dream in which I saw my friend Wesley crooning a Kanye West song in front of the entire school, then being crowned the King of Hearts. I’m glad that one came true.
The most apt metaphor for the school year would be one of those dreams in which a lot of strange, unbelievable things happen, but you don’t question any of them. Ghosts ate your house or whatever, and it seems like the most ordinary thing in the world. And then suddenly you wake up stunned by what you saw, wishing you could get back in, so you can have the chance to do things differently. It’s as if you had a dream that you could fly, but all you did was glide over this field to get a better view of the crude image Chris Pickarski drew on the grass.
Regrets like this are easy but they’re dangerous. Trust me; I’ve been a repeat offender since even before I had a midlife crisis at 13. I always felt like my time was almost over, which is why I missed out on so many great opportunities. I gave up skateboarding when I was 11 because I couldn’t do a 900 like Tony Hawk. That was the kind of angst-ridden thought that often plagued me. Now that I’m beginning to grasp the absurdity of it, I urge everyone here not to make the same mistake.
This year I did a lot of things that I enjoyed; I met a lot of great people and made some good friends. I was influenced by the inspiring words of my teachers – I hope you’re here Mr. Houston. Obviously there are things I won’t miss: the hot lunch and bullies come to mind. But most of all I discovered that so many of my schoolmates are incredible people. I was amazed by your cool interests and keen insights. Your kindness touched and humbled me. You all left an impression on me. Everyone here clearly has passion, skill, and self-worth. Unfortunately, my passion let my self-worth depend so much on my skill that I often beat myself up when I fell short of perfection.
With the same mindset as I had when I was 11, I drove myself mad this year trying to achieve everything. Trying to make sure I wouldn’t wake up crestfallen. But setbacks, even minor ones, discouraged me, until I realized that my successes have come only from the times I persisted despite difficulty. I’ve seen too many of my friends, as talented as they are, be unhealthily hard on themselves. Don’t regret your mistakes up to now, because you are still capable of living your favorite life. You may think it’s already too late to start on a meaningful path, but that’s not true. Don’t judge yourself by the extent of your talents, and don’t let them control the directions of your lives. You all still have passion, and you should follow your desires.
Above all, you just need to take on hard work. It may be an awakening but it’s worth it. When you start trying with something, concern yourself more with quantity than quality. Be relentless with what you want to do; talent is so overrated. I’ve come to realize this after reading about so many famous figures I admire. Mozart wasn’t that great when he was a kid; he just practiced tirelessly. And Paul Cézanne kept trying until he was 56 to get his first solo exhibition. Now Paul Cézanne is considered one of the best artists of all time. And Mozart is the great composer behind those CDs that turn babies into Einsteins.
When you consider your status and what you want to be, it can be daunting. You may be afraid to fail when you see the great things others have done before you. But if you get too comfortable with where you are, you’ll end up wondering what happened. Allow yourself to be uncomfortable, and compete against yourself only. As one of my favorite song lyrics goes: “take no heroes, only inspiration.”
I may always have certain regrets about how I spent my last year in high school. Granted, I am proud of many of the things I did, but throughout the year are times I wish I tried harder, nights I wish I went to bed sooner, and people I wish I talked to more. I should’ve savored lunch with my friends more instead of playing computer games in the library. Instead of studying so much in the library, I should’ve played more computer games. I’m still struggling to put these behind me. Undoubtedly, everyone here has similar disappointments. Maybe you are just barely graduating today. It doesn’t matter; you’re still graduating just like everyone else around you. And your capacity for success is infinite. The only thing you should do for yourself now is focus on what you want to be. Even though we’re about to awake from the high school dream, we’re all still young and we have waking life in front of us. Except my friend Kevin Dwyer, who is already 19, and should really have his act together by now. Thank you.
Greetings everyone. Thanks for coming out tonight. I received a lot of different suggestions for what kind of speech to deliver and I’ll try to honor all of them. So this speech will be funny and serious, short and long, and I will mention 78 of you by name.
This school year has been like a dream for me. But I don’t mean it was all magic and wonder. It wasn’t like that dream where you live in a magic candy store and you ride a dinosaur made out of chocolate, eating pieces of his head until you wake up with a big smile on your face. I assume everyone here has had that dream too.
What I mean is that this year has been dream-like. For example, only in my wildest reveries did I see myself finally on the verge of graduation. And the new dress code helped realize my dream that all of the school’s horrible gangs would stop fighting and unite for a single cause: complaining about the dress code. I also had a beautiful dream in which I saw my friend Wesley crooning a Kanye West song in front of the entire school, then being crowned the King of Hearts. I’m glad that one came true.
The most apt metaphor for the school year would be one of those dreams in which a lot of strange, unbelievable things happen, but you don’t question any of them. Ghosts ate your house or whatever, and it seems like the most ordinary thing in the world. And then suddenly you wake up stunned by what you saw, wishing you could get back in, so you can have the chance to do things differently. It’s as if you had a dream that you could fly, but all you did was glide over this field to get a better view of the crude image Chris Pickarski drew on the grass.
Regrets like this are easy but they’re dangerous. Trust me; I’ve been a repeat offender since even before I had a midlife crisis at 13. I always felt like my time was almost over, which is why I missed out on so many great opportunities. I gave up skateboarding when I was 11 because I couldn’t do a 900 like Tony Hawk. That was the kind of angst-ridden thought that often plagued me. Now that I’m beginning to grasp the absurdity of it, I urge everyone here not to make the same mistake.
This year I did a lot of things that I enjoyed; I met a lot of great people and made some good friends. I was influenced by the inspiring words of my teachers – I hope you’re here Mr. Houston. Obviously there are things I won’t miss: the hot lunch and bullies come to mind. But most of all I discovered that so many of my schoolmates are incredible people. I was amazed by your cool interests and keen insights. Your kindness touched and humbled me. You all left an impression on me. Everyone here clearly has passion, skill, and self-worth. Unfortunately, my passion let my self-worth depend so much on my skill that I often beat myself up when I fell short of perfection.
With the same mindset as I had when I was 11, I drove myself mad this year trying to achieve everything. Trying to make sure I wouldn’t wake up crestfallen. But setbacks, even minor ones, discouraged me, until I realized that my successes have come only from the times I persisted despite difficulty. I’ve seen too many of my friends, as talented as they are, be unhealthily hard on themselves. Don’t regret your mistakes up to now, because you are still capable of living your favorite life. You may think it’s already too late to start on a meaningful path, but that’s not true. Don’t judge yourself by the extent of your talents, and don’t let them control the directions of your lives. You all still have passion, and you should follow your desires.
Above all, you just need to take on hard work. It may be an awakening but it’s worth it. When you start trying with something, concern yourself more with quantity than quality. Be relentless with what you want to do; talent is so overrated. I’ve come to realize this after reading about so many famous figures I admire. Mozart wasn’t that great when he was a kid; he just practiced tirelessly. And Paul Cézanne kept trying until he was 56 to get his first solo exhibition. Now Paul Cézanne is considered one of the best artists of all time. And Mozart is the great composer behind those CDs that turn babies into Einsteins.
When you consider your status and what you want to be, it can be daunting. You may be afraid to fail when you see the great things others have done before you. But if you get too comfortable with where you are, you’ll end up wondering what happened. Allow yourself to be uncomfortable, and compete against yourself only. As one of my favorite song lyrics goes: “take no heroes, only inspiration.”
I may always have certain regrets about how I spent my last year in high school. Granted, I am proud of many of the things I did, but throughout the year are times I wish I tried harder, nights I wish I went to bed sooner, and people I wish I talked to more. I should’ve savored lunch with my friends more instead of playing computer games in the library. Instead of studying so much in the library, I should’ve played more computer games. I’m still struggling to put these behind me. Undoubtedly, everyone here has similar disappointments. Maybe you are just barely graduating today. It doesn’t matter; you’re still graduating just like everyone else around you. And your capacity for success is infinite. The only thing you should do for yourself now is focus on what you want to be. Even though we’re about to awake from the high school dream, we’re all still young and we have waking life in front of us. Except my friend Kevin Dwyer, who is already 19, and should really have his act together by now. Thank you.
posted by Kiptok at 6/13/2009 02:26:00 PM
2 comments
