Graduation Speech: We Are the Dreamers of Dreams :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Though our state isn't known for its cold winters, the winter of my junior year seemed to be the most frigid of my life. Every morning I would trudge through mud puddles on my way to the distant portable toliet that received no announcements and was supplied with absolutely no heat. We were all assured that this was an underhanded scheme of Mr. Rives to keep us all awake in the morning. It got so bad that in a show of rage each student came to class with a blanket and sad face the day Mr. Rives was to be observed by administration. Soon enough, the heater was fixed. This event was just one of many casualties of construction; the remodel of Staten our junior year threw us back in with the freshmen, walking around dazed but impressed with what we saw, and leaving my first period class confused by the inability to solve our heater dilemma. The sense of confusion and entering something bigger than ourselves that we're confronted with our freshmen year never really leaves us - no matter h ow comfortable we became at Staten we were always caught in a whirlpool of change. After today we'll all be embarking into different worlds, but the lessons we've learned together throughout these four years of friendship, trauma, and dreams will help guide us through the new mazes set up for us, and though we may not be together, the experiences we've shared will help us through. Ferris Bueller, an icon of all that is high school, stated that, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Though some of us will still testify that these years have gone by much too slowly, most will be willing to admit that they've gone faster than we initially expected. Our freshmen year we entered Staten firmly locked in the cliques that carried over from middle school, only to watch them slowly dissipate as we met new, exciting people in each of our classes. This was the year of the blessed late start days and the introduction of the seemingly impossible new standards. Our freshmen football team battled its way to an undefeated season as we powerhoused our way through the year, struggling to stay afloat in the sea of new faces, traditions, and teacher reputations. Treading water we finally broke in to summer, eager to carry out plans with friends, new and old, and to take a break from the homework we had finally grown accusto med to.