Right now, to my fellow seniors I want you to take a moment to sit back and look at your peers all around you and look into the crowd. Look at all of those family members, friends and all of those teachers who got us here today. Soak this moment in. This is our moment. Live in it and cherish it while we can.
With that said, good morning everyone and on behalf of the Class of 2022, I would like to welcome all faculty and staff, family, friends, and distinguished guests to our Springfield High School graduation.
Is this actually happening? All of us here on stage in our cap and gowns waiting to move our tassel to the left side and receive our diplomas. The turning of our tassels symbolizes change, it also symbolizes all of our accomplishments and hard work over the past 12 years.
Our hard work began when we learned how to tell time so we could count down the min utes until recess. Our hard work continued when we started learning multiplication tables and learning all the states in our country. Our hard work was shown when we stopped staying up late for fun at sleepovers to staying up late on a school night to finish an assignment due at 11:59 p.m.
While our class has not had the most “normal” experience of high school, I believe we made it work. It began with leaving during our sophomore year for two weeks to then joining google meets and us showing our pets on our screens while wearing pajamas every day for the rest of the year.
While transitioning to online school may not have been easy for everyone, it gave us a different perspective and we had to adapt to this new change.
I moved to the Springfield district in the sixth grade and when I went to the open house and they handed me my lock for my locker, I practiced opening and closing that thing every single day to make sure I at least somewhat looked like I knew what I was doing.
But that is the thing, no one remembers if the kid next to you could not figure out how to open their locker so they had to ask for help so they wouldn’t be late for class. No one remembers when you fell down the stairs in middle school, or in my case, I managed to fall up the stairs. I feel like our generation with social media, we are so anxious about what others are thinking or how they might look at us. We edit our instagram pictures and make sure our filters on snapchat look “perfect” because that is how we want to be perceived.
In reality, our “perfect” pictures are not how we will be remembered. The “perfect” picture of you is not your instagram photo with 500 likes, it is how you treat others kindly and with respect no matter the gender, race, sexual oreintation, or their background.
When we walked in those doors this morning and sat in these chairs, we were experiencing change. Our chapter of 12 years of schooling is ending as soon as we walk across this stage.
While this chapter is ending, a new one will begin when we walk out those doors. It does not matter what your plans are after leaving here, what matters is who you want to be. Change is going to happen, and there is nothing anyone can do to alter that.
Change is all around us. Change can be instead of going into work dreading your shift, go in with a positive mindset. That little switch can make your day so much better. Change can be instead of ignoring someone as you pass by, give them a smile or say a simple hello.
While none of us had the same journey to how we got here today, that is what makes us all unique. I am so incredibly proud of everyone here today. I want to give a huge thank you to my parents for always guiding and supporting me. Thank you class for giving me this amazing opportunity to be your class president for all four years. Thank you to all my teachers who have helped me push through and to be successful in your classrooms.
Finally, I want to give my most appreciation to my sister, Lauren who graduated here in 2020 with a drive-by celebration due to COVID. Unfortunately she is not able to be here today because she is in Texas completing her Tech School for the Air National Guard.
If you can’t remember anything from what I’ve said, I want you to remember and take this message in. Live in the moment. Hug your loved ones and express your gratitude for the small things in life. Be open to change. Be kind to everyone no matter what and be forever grateful for all the memories you have created in our school’s buildings. Class of 22, we did it!
