Good afternoon fellow Panthers, family, friends, and faculty. Today I would like to thank some people who have carried me through these 4 years of high school. I would first like to thank my mother, for making my lunch every single day since third grade. I have absolutely no shame in this. I would also like to thank my teachers, because even though I still think that you have meetings where you plan tests and projects to be due on the same day for every class, I still would not be the student that I am today without you. And lastly, I would like to thank my best friend Maddie Donohue, for being my welcome buddy on my first day of public school in third grade, and for being by my side every single day since.
I am going to start off by telling you something that might come as a shock to you. We are not special. Yes, that’s right, you heard me, we’re not special. Our entire lives we are raised to think that we are unique and that no matter what we do we will always be something spectacular.
“Just be yourself!” is the advice that many of us hear, which sounds like a motivational cat poster you would find in a 5th grade book fair. We get awards for just showing up, gold stars on our papers, and participation trophies, even if that participation meant picking dandelions in the outfield. These things instill a false sense of success within us.
At some point I think many of us have let ourselves become complacent with how we are now. The bare minimum has become a standard and even become a stereotype of the millennial generation.
Have any of you ever seen a water puddle on the side of the road? Anyone? Anyone in this room? (common people you live in Washington its inevitable!) When the puddle sits there for a few days, the water becomes stagnant. The water collects dirt and bugs and is generally pretty disgusting. This puddle is us if we choose to settle for who we are now. Why would you ever want to settle? Why would you not want to always be striving to be your best? You are in control, so it is up to you to decide to take charge wherever you are and not let circumstance rule.
I know sometimes things are going to be hard. I know it. One of my favorite quotes by Tom Hanks in a League of Their Own says that “Its supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great”. Guys, failure is scary but, much like a first date, is necessary for us to grow and learn.
In the wise words of Justin Bieber, “7 billion people in the world tryin to fit in”, so there is no room for mediocrity in life. Only the hardest work will get you where you want to go. So don’t settle. Don’t let yourself become stagnant. Don’t let yourself accept the bare minimum. Don’t let yourself give in when you face challenges. It’s when we do these things that we will truly become special. Thank you.
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