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Brayden Robinson

Syphus

English1010

4/2/2020

Graduation Speech

Welcome to the class of 2020’s graduation! I am very thankful for everyone joining me

today at the Maverick center to celebrate the turning of a chapter for these special people in our

lives! Today is the end of these high schoolers lifes, and the beginning of a new one called

adulthood. Many of you will go on to college while some begin their career right out of high

school. We are now going to become the next wave of doctors, lawyers, politicians, and space

cadets. We are the next influencers, and leaders in our community and our world. Our choices

will now affect people on a bigger level. We can vote, we can buy guns, and we can join the

military. We can band together, or we can fight each other, on how to fight the enemy. The way

we think, act, and enforce our standards onto the world will either help or damage the structural

integrity of our society and on our own morals. But oh no, I am not worried at all about this.

Because the last 4 years we have been put through the ringer. We have been tried and tested

against the enforced events of high school and the unexpected ones that came with it. In our time

of need we thrived together to help the little guy out. Whether it was the sick kids during hearts

of gold, or holding a service for one of our own that passed away without warning. We have the

capabilities of leading by example in this world. We can show how to grow more as humans and

society. We need to come together and stand strong with one another. Holding hands as one
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unified shield protecting the weak and sick from the crippling arrows of our past scares, or the

present fear of what can happen in the future.

A favorite quote of mine was written by an author and actor named Julianne O’Conner. It

is ​“The sooner we let go of holding on, the sooner we can hold on to the beauty of what's

unfolding before us. Nothing was ever meant to stay the same forever.” What this means to me is

that change is good. And by holding on to the past it is impossible to change. You must free up

space for something new to fill it in! For some of you, you may be holding on to some of our

friends that have died in our high school career. By letting go of the pain, and the idea that you

could have maybe saved them, you can allow that exhausting memory to leave your body and

exit your soul, you can learn to forgive yourself and the others around you for not lending a

helping hand when you think we could have. Now don't mistake this as me saying the only way

to move on is to forget. The special moments you had with these people like playing sports or

having those deep 2am phone conversations with them, keep those memories and lock them

away and hold them in a distinguished place in your heart. Use it as a reminder that even in

death, you can find good. Even in bad times there is hope. And even in change, there is the

opportunity to prosper. Make them the reason you work 70 hour work weeks. Make them your

motivation to go to the gym. Make them the reason you go one to live a long fulfilling life. Like

the great songwriter Irving berlin said “The song has ended but the melody lingers on.” Use your

song(the past) to keep you going. Let the mistakes you had in the past linger in your head so you

do not mess up again. Learn and grow.

With the ending of high school you will be forced to move on to another chapter of your

life. You will be forced to write your own story. And that is the exciting part. YOU get to write
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it. Not your mom. Not your dad. YOU. That is what makes you and everyone in this room

unique. You all come from different backgrounds and places and because of that, you have

different influencers in your story. An amazing quote by Jodie Foster states “There is nothing

more beautiful than finding your course as you believe you bob aimlessly in the current.

Wouldn’t you know that your path was there all along, waiting for you to knock, waiting for you

to become. This path does not belong to your parents, your teachers, your leaders, or your lovers.

Your path is your character defining itself more and more everyday like a photograph coming

into focus.” The reason I have come to appreciate this quote is because while you bob

unconditionally in the current, you soon figure out what you enjoy and want to pursue. The

current is your opportunities and options. Unlimited and at the disposal of yourself, and as you

pick something, your bob slowly becomes a doggie paddle, then a kick, then a hard swim

towards your passion and purpose in life. And once you find your passion and purpose, hang on

tight and never let go! Become the best that you can at it and share it with everyone. Influence

others and make a lasting imprint on the world, just like Herriman High has the past 4 years.

The reason why I believe that it is important for us to do these things is because without

us improving, we are dead weight in society. Even at a plateau we are dead weight. The reason

for this is because while we sit and refuse to find ways to break through that next barrier and

ascend to the next level, the others are. And because of that we fall behind. And a team is only as

good as their worst player. Plane and simple. A better said quote of what I stated by Mark Twain

goes "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do

than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch

the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." This is an awesome quote because
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nobody dwells on the things they did. In every movie when the old man lays down to close his

eyes for the last time, he always talks about all the things he wishes he did and how he would

give anything to go back in time whether it was going on that trip to Europe, taking back

something he said to a family member or loved one, or simply just trusting himself to take that

leap of faith.

I would like to leave you all with this piece of advice. Before you attempt to change the

world, or take on the responsibility of having to care for someone other than yourself, whether it

is your child, or your old mother, learn to love and accept who you are. Because if you can not

take care of yourself, how can you or others expect you to take care of them. And sometimes it is

unplanned, and you do not have time to learn how to love yourself when shit hits the fan. So start

now.

There are 3 quotes I want to end with that I feel go hand and hand with each other and

together you can find a bigger meaning in them. Starting off with a quote from Nikki Martinez, it

goes “You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.” If you find it hard

to sit alone in a room with yourself then that's a problem. In the end, you are the only one you

can trust, and the only one you can rely on. Find peace with yourself and move on from your

troubles, do not let others define you and find your inner Nirvana and you will be truly happy.

The second quote is from Henrik Edberg and it states “Success means doing the best we can with

what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a

personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” The

biggest thing I can personally take away with this is being better than who you were yesterday.

There will always be someone bigger, better, and faster than you. Thats just how evolution works
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and how the world goes round. So do not compare yourself to others and only focus on your own

personal success. The last and final quote is by the man himself Mr.Gandhi. It goes like

this,“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” The

reason I also believe that this can be applicable to everyone in their current situation is because

so many people fake it till they make it. Proposing one thing, doing another, and screwing

someone in the process is as low as it gets. Be as pure and genuine as you can be. Be exactly as

you imagine yourself wanting to be. And before you know it, you will slowly​“Happiness is when

what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.​be attracting the same type of

people that you want to be and your whole environment will change. It is like being a meat

replacement on a burger. On the outside, you look exactly like you should. Chard up on a Sunday

BBQ with the family, juicy, wholesome, and perfect. But on the inside you are a spongey, and

dirt tasting like patty. It is on the first bite, when someone throws you on the ground and never

looks at you again. That's also why it is important to always be prepared to meet new and

important people. Because you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And if you

blow that first impression, you will be left in the garbage can, half chewed, with the rest of the

meat replacement burger patties.

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Annotated Bibliography

O'Connor, Julianna. “Alive and Counting | Julianne Younghans O'Connor | TEDxYakimaSalon.”

TedxTalks, 11 Apr. 2017, YouTube.com. The sooner we let go of holding on, the sooner we can

hold on to the beauty of what's unfolding before us. Nothing was ever meant to stay the same

forever.

The reason I picked this citation is because the amount of truth and realism it holds when you

read it. I also like it because it makes the listeners have to use a little bit of insightfulness to

decipher what exactly that means. The way it connects is by telling everyone that is maybe

scared of moving that the only way to do so is to let go of the past because you will miss

everything unfolding in front of you.

Written by Shutterfly★ Lifestyle ExpertAs your go-to expert for everything one of a kind.

“100+ Graduation Quotes and Sayings 2019.” Shutterfly, 21 Feb. 2020,

www.shutterfly.com/ideas/graduation-quotes-and-sayings/. “There is nothing more beautiful

than finding your course as you believe you bob aimlessly in the current. Wouldn’t you know

that your path was there all along, waiting for you to knock, waiting for you to become. This

path does not belong to your parents, your teachers, your leaders, or your lovers. Your path is

your character defining itself more and more everyday like a photograph coming into focus.”

The reason why I picked this quote is because I feel it hits home really hard with the point I am

trying to get across to the reader. And that point is that nobody can create your story for you.

There is no easy way out, and that you have unlimited opportunities in the “current”.+
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“The Song Is Ended (but the Melody Lingers On).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Apr.

2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Song_Is_Ended_(but_the_Melody_Lingers_On). “The song

has ended but the melody lingers on.”

The reason I really like this quote is because it is short and sweet. I like to think of the whole

song as someone's life that we have lost. But like he says the melody lingers. Just like the

memories and happy moments we shared with that special person.

“50 Best Personal Growth Quotes for the New Year.” Southern New Hampshire University,

www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2017/01/personal-growth-quotes. "Twenty years from now

you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So

throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover."

A reason why I picked this quote was because it was written by Mark Twain. And everyone

knows who he is and that he is a very credible person. I also like how it uses a harbor as an

example. Because when people first sailed the oceans of the world they had no idea what was out

there. But they did it anyway.

Martinez, Nikki. “55 Self Acceptance Quotes To Help You Find Inner Peace.” Everyday Power,

1 Apr. 2020, everydaypower.com/quotes-on-acceptance-self-others/. “You’re always with

yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.”

I have not been able to incorporate these next quotes into my paper yet so I am not sure how they

will fit in. I will add this when I do!

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Gandhi, Mahatma. “Happiness Quotes (14046 Quotes).” Goodreads, Goodreads, 2005,

www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/happiness. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say,

and what you do are in harmony.

Edberg, Henrik. “101 Motivating Quotes on Success.” The Positivity Blog Header Image, 20

Apr. 2020, www.positivityblog.com/success-quotes/. “Success means doing the best we can with

what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a

personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”