Valedictorian Speech

 

Last updated 6/8/2016 at 7:45pm

Today our class comes together one last time to celebrate how far we have come. Some of us have been together since preschool, while others have joined us along the way. We are a very diverse group, but one of the things we have in common is that today we are all receiving our diploma from Odessa High School. After today, some of us will go to a four year university, some will go to community college or trade school, and others will enter the workforce, but Odessa will remain a lasting connection between all of us. Another thing we all have in common is that we have made choices and that we will have to make even more choices in the future. Our decisions will dictate where we go and who we become. As stated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "the only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be."

Odessa High School has helped prepare us for the tough decisions we have ahead. People may say that it is not a great accomplishment to graduate from a small school like Odessa, but in just the last four years that we have been in high school, students have earned trips to compete at international science fairs in Houston, Texas and Oswego, New York. We have placed in the top ten numerous times at the national FBLA conferences in Anaheim, Nashville, Chicago, and several of us have qualified for nationals this year in Atlanta. Students have traveled to the national FFA conference, competed in state-level athletics, participated in honor and marching band, and we have grown greater than we ever thought possible. These are just a few of the accomplishments made possible by the supportive advisors, teachers, coaches, chaperones, families, janitors and bus drivers of our community. There were also great opportunities inside the classroom, as there were many offered electives that went well beyond the required classes, such as the art program, computer science, the music program, Advanced STEM Research and ag shop. There were great opportunities available at Odessa High School, and it was us who decided to use them to our advantage. It will be up to us to not only take advantage of opportunities, but to create them for ourselves.

Still today in this world there are those who do not want girls to receive an education and boys who are more brainwashed than educated. We have never had to deal with those obstacles to get a proper education. We might be glad that we are done, but we need to look back and be grateful for the circumstances that allowed us to have access to public education here in Odessa.

We need to remember to take advantage of opportunities that are presented to us. There are many people restricted by illness, disability and other unfortunate situations, that are not presented with the decisions we have. Having to make difficult choices may seem like a burden or a hurdle to overcome, but, in reality, difficult situations are a blessing in disguise. The choices we make could lead to the greatest adventures of our lives.

In closing, we need to be grateful for the choices we have and know that our decisions will shape the rest of our lives. Our choices may lead us in many different directions, as expressed in another quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Many paths have brought us together and now we head out into the world to create our own paths. Some of us may follow existing paths and others may have the opportunity to forge a new trail. The decisions will be ours.

 

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