Should have been.

The end has come.
I don't want to post what I'm really feeling.
So I'll post the graduation speech I was supposed to submit, but didn't because I forgot to.
It's not great at all, it was just for me to reminisce.

“…and remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” This quote was once spoken by Chinese philosopher, Confucius. I am here in front of you today, reciting the very same quote, four years removed from finding this quote, at the very end of the fourth year of my high school career. Four years ago, during the summer after being promoted from eighth grade, I was in my garage, slaving away at the labor that is shoe cleaning. I had finished my Vans and moved on to the Nike portion of my collection. I got to my favorite pair, a pair of Nike Vandals designed by Jason Luedecke and I just happened to take a look at the inside of the shoe as I cleaned it. On the inside was the very quote by Confucius.

Whether I was heading through a frivolous freshman year, a sophomore slump, a not so jovial junior year, or a spectacular senior year, this quote has remained in the back of my mind. After four years of high school, this graduating class of seniors sits before a crowd of people who love them, ready to move on to the next part of their lives. The past four years have molded us into what we have become today, able bodied adults, parting ways into the real world. Some continuing with education, some choosing different career paths, but what remains ahead is still a mystery. As we look forward to new beginnings, I beg you to look back on your past and remind you to never forget the past four years of your life. Because no matter where we go in life, there will always be the past, that very past that has led us to Fred Kelly Stadium on the eve of closing one chapter of our lives. Some of us will end up in the health care field, others will end up teaching, we’ll end up in various facets of life, making a difference. But never should we lose sight of what got us here in the first place. Don’t ever get caught up in the pursuit of tomorrow. When you get caught up is when you forget to realize to live for today, and forget about what made us who we are today.

Never will I forget making parodies of Romeo & Juliet in Ms. D’s class. Never will I forget winning Century league when everyone doubted our Sophomore basketball team led by Mr. Anderson. Never will I forget the first day of APUSH in which Mrs. Ellis scared all of us into thinking we would never survive her class but would end up being like my mother from another grandmother. And never will I forget anything about my senior year. From Mrs. Rommelfanger caring so much about our political welfare, to Mrs. Torneo caring about the welfare of our future as chemists, to Mrs. Hahn always wondering how we were mentally and if we had contracted senioritis yet, to Nellis caring about, well our welfare in general. I know, as much pain as I felt going through the process, I will never forget the times that I had at Canyon, because I know I would not be the same today. I know Mr. Harrison would be proud, he never had much to praise of my basketball skills, but taking a page from Machiavelli, the end really did justify the means. And with that, I shall bid you a fond farewell with this, Class of 2009, no matter where you go, there you are.

TOK 09<3


Till next time.
Take care guys.