Good morning. Special greetings to our school principal, teachers, parents, guests, and fellow graduates. This is the day we have all been anticipating – ever since we pursued our secondary level of education, three years ago. Finally, the long wait is over. I believe the message that must be relayed in every graduation is a message of hope, of thanksgiving, of being prepared to face future challenges that lie ahead. Likewise, an important message is also that of reminiscing – looking back at what we have shared; the bonds of friendship that we formed; and the knowledge and skills we learned along the way.
I remember during the 10th grade, I was so enthusiastic about the idea of being in high school. It meant being immersed in advanced theoretical frameworks that should make each and every one equipped with the knowledge, skill, and abilities to be productive in future endeavors. Likewise, it posed various opportunities to discern who are real friends are; who we should seek academic support from, what decisions could be made, and what our priorities were. Thus, high school was a time for making mature and responsible decisions in life. It is a time for realization and recognition that, what we make of ourselves through the decisions we choose, become what we are in the future.
Sure – we had such a lot of fun. We could have met our high school crush; fell madly in love; crammed innumerable times for examinations – or opted not to review at all; copied; plagiarized; cheated; or intentionally violated academic rules and policies – just to satisfy our curiosity. But, apart from acknowledging and discerning what is right from what is wrong, high school has given us these moments to cherish. Some moments would remain ingrained forever, not only in our minds; but more so, in our hearts. At the end of the day, we realized, high school was the perfect time for learning, for realizations, for confirmation, for truth.
Let me likewise take this opportunity to express our deepest and profoundest gratitude to our parents, who had been our source of holistic support. What we have accomplished now would not at all been made possible without their unselfish support, commitment, and conviction that we can gain crucial knowledge, skills, and abilities during this educational phase. Of course, we also thank our school administrators; and especially our dear teachers for persisting and for being earnest in determination – that despite our immaturities then, they were able to successfully inculcate the basic theoretical frameworks for academic growth needed in our future endeavors.
Finally, as your representative of the high school graduating class, let me thank all of you for just being you; and for being open for constructive criticisms to enable personal growth and development. We each had our ups and downs. But that is part of our learning experiences. There have been surveys that revealed that about 66% of us high school graduates would decide to pursue higher education. This means the 34% are confident and competent enough to find employment using the knowledge and skills gained during high school. This means believing in oneself – more than losing hope that we can do great things with what he have learned.
Graduation is a time for bidding goodbye. It is also a time for looking forward. For now, let us enjoy and cherish this moment. For this is a time to acknowledge and celebrate that, at last, we have been successful in this significant part of our lives. Thank you and good morning.
